Brimstone test firing from Panavia Tornado

The Brimstone missile is an advanced Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM) developed by MBDA. Test firing of Brimstone missile, Tornado GR1 The photos on this site are the property of BAE SYSTEMS (Copyright© 2004 BAE SYSTEMS. All rights reserved) and are made available for publishing and personal use. ... Test firing of Brimstone missile, Tornado GR1 The photos on this site are the property of BAE SYSTEMS (Copyright© 2004 BAE SYSTEMS. All rights reserved) and are made available for publishing and personal use. ... An Anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) or weapon (ATGW) is a guided missile primarily designed to hit and destroy tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles. ... European arms company MBDA, which manufactures missiles, is the result of the 2002 merger of Aerospatiale Matra Missiles (of EADS), Alenia Marconi Systems missile interests, and Matra BAe Dynamics. ...

The missile is a development of Boeing's AGM-114 Hellfire is designed to meet the RAF's requirement for a long range anti-armour weapon, allowing strike aircraft to attack tanks and armoured vehicles at stand-off range, replacing the BL755 cluster bomb. This requirement was issued following an assessment of the British military's performance in the Gulf War. The General Electric Company (GEC) (whose missile interests now form part of MBDA) was originally awarded the contract on November 7, 1996. Boeing is the primary sub-contractor. AGM-114 Hellfire Type air-to-ground missile Nationality US Era cold war Launch platform Helicopter Target armoured vehicles History Builder Lockheed Martin Date of design Production period Service duration Operators see main text Variants see text Number built Specifications Type Diameter 17. ... The Royal Air Force (often abbreviated to RAF) is the air force branch of the UK Armed Forces. ... BL755 is a cluster bomb. ... Cluster bomb exploding A cluster bomb is an air-dropped bomb that ejects multiple small submunitions (bomblets). ... C Company, 1st Battalion, The Staffordshire Regiment, 1st UK Armoured Division The 1991 Gulf War was a conflict between Iraq and a coalition force of 34 nations mandated by the United Nations and led by the United States. ... The General Electric Company plc or GEC was a UK company involved in consumer and defence electronics, communications and engineering. ... November 7 is the 311th day of the year (312th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 54 days remaining. ... 1996 is a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) is the leading American aircraft and aerospace manufacturer, headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, with its largest production facilities in Everett, Washington, near Seattle, Washington. ...

Brimstone is an extremely lethal system, it is a "fire and forget" weapon and can be programmed to adapt to a particular mission. For example it can be programmed to seek targets beyond a certain point (i.e. overfly friendly forces) and not to seek targets beyond another point. The resolution offered by the missile's seeker, the millimetric wave (MMW) radar, allows the weapon to "image" a target. Embedded algorithms allow target discrimination according to commands issued by the aircraft via the MIL-STD-1760 interface, allowing different terminal guidance profiles for armoured and unarmoured vehicles. Also, the MMW radar is less susceptible to poor weather conditions, smoke or fog than conventional radar. This long range radar antenna (approximately 40m (130ft) in diameter) rotates on a track to observe activities near the horizon. ...

Each launch system incorporates three rails, i.e. one system carries three missiles. This allows a single aircraft to carry large numbers of missiles, for example a Typhoon can carry eight launchers on eight pylons, which gives a payload of twenty four missiles - in addition to a useful air-air payload. In RAF service the missile will be carried by; The Eurofighter Typhoon is a highly agile twin-engine multi-role canard-delta fighter aircraft, designed and built by a consortium of European nations formed in 1983. ...

• Tornado GR4
• Eurofighter Typhoon
• GR9

In addition to air launched platforms Brimstone can also be deployed from surface launchers, vehicles and helicopters. The Tornado GR4 is a Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MRCA) used for low-level penetration to attack ground targets. ... The Eurofighter Typhoon is a highly agile twin-engine multi-role canard-delta fighter aircraft, designed and built by a consortium of European nations formed in 1983. ... The Harrier GR5, GR7, GR7A, GR9 and GR9A are all Royal Air Force variants of the BAE Systems/Boeing Harrier II. The programme is a joint development between BAE and Boeing (initially British Aerospace and McDonnell Douglas). ...

The first ground firing of the Brimstone missile occurred in August 1999 followed by the first air-launched firing Tornado GR1 in September 2000. Clearance of the missile was delayed by 12 months due to the unavailability of a Tornado trials aircraft, the RAF chose instead to rush the development of the Storm Shadow. 12 Sqn Tornado GR1 The RAF Tornado GR1 was the first generation version of the Panavia Tornado strike aircraft of the Royal Air Force. ... Storm Shadow is an Anglo-French air-launched cruise missile, manufactured by MBDA and used by Britain, France, and Italy. ...

Specification

Length: 1.8 m

Diameter: 17.8 cm

Weight: 48.5 kg

Range: 32 km

Speed: Supersonic

Control: Aerodynamic surfaces on missile

Propulsion: Solid-rocket

Guidance: 94GHz Millimetric wave radar (MMW) & digital autopilot

Warhead: HEAT tandem warhead - initial charge triggers reactive armour followed by the main high explosive anti-tank jet dart

Fuze: Crush fuze (detonation on impact)

High explosive anti-tank, more commonly known as HEAT, rounds are made of an explosive shaped charge that uses the Neumann effect (a development of the Munroe effect) to create a very high velocity jet of metal in a state of superplasticity that can punch through solid armor. ...

See also

• Armoured fighting vehicle
• Reactive armour
• Composite armour
• Chobham armour
• Munroe effect

An armoured fighting vehicle (AFV) is a military vehicle, equipped with protection against hostile attacks and often mounted weapons. ... Reactive armor or explosive reactive armour (ERA), is a type of armour used primarily on tanks to lessen the damage from explosions caused from missile warheads, exploding shells, grenades, or dropped bombs. ... Composite Armor is a type of armor consisting of layers of different material such as metals, plastics, ceramics or air. ... Chobham armour is a composite armour developed at the British tank research centre on Chobham Common. ... The Munroe effect refers to the partial focussing of blast energy caused by a hollow or void cut into a piece of explosive, a property which is exploited by a shaped charge. ...

External links

• MBDA: Brimstone
• Boeing IDS: Brimstone
• UK Defence Procurement Agency: Brimstone