Brimstone is an air-launched ground attack missile developed by MBDA for Britain's Royal
Air Force. It was originally intended for "fire and forget" use against mass formations
of enemy armour, using a millimetre wave seeker to ensure accuracy even against moving targets.
Experience in Afghanistan led to the addition of laser guidance in the dual-mode Brimstone
missile, allowing a "spotter" to pick out specific targets when friendly forces or civilians
were in the area. The tandem shaped charge warhead is much more effective against modern
tanks than older similar weapons such as the AGM-65G Maverick, while the small blast area
minimises collateral damage. Three Brimstones are carried on a launcher that occupies a
single weapon station, allowing a single aircraft to carry many missiles.
After a protracted development programme, single-mode or "millimetric" Brimstone entered
service with RAF Tornado aircraft in 2005, and the dual-mode variant in 2008. The latter
has been extensively used in Afghanistan and Libya. An improved Brimstone 2 was expected
to enter service in October 2012, but problems with the warhead and rocket motor put back
the planned date to November 2015. MBDA is working on the targeting of swarms of small
boats under the name Sea Spear. The RAF intend to fit Brimstone to their Eurofighter Typhoons,
and planned to integrate it with their Harriers until they were withdrawn from service in
2010. MBDA are studying the use of Brimstone on ships, attack helicopters, UAVs and from
surface launchers; it will be integrated on the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II when
the F-35B enters British service. The US, France and India expressed interest in buying
Brimstone for their aircraft, but Saudi Arabia was the only export customer as of 2014.
Design Overview
The missile was originally supposed to be an evolution of the original laser Hellfire,
with the laser seeker replaced by a millimetre wave seeker. During development, virtually
the entire missile was redesigned, resulting in a weapon that - other than the external
shape - bears no relation to the original airframe. It is unrelated to the separate
development of the mmW Hellfire for the Apache Longbow. The missile airframe is developed
from Lockheed's AGM-114 Hellfire, but Brimstone is an all-new design with its own motor, warhead
and seeker. Brimstone has a Tandem Shaped Charge warhead
that employs a smaller initial charge, designed to initiate reactive armor, followed by a
larger, more destructive charge, designed to penetrate and defeat the base armour. It
has been estimated that Brimstone will be 3 times more effective than the AGM-65G Maverick
missile against modern tanks, and 7 times more effective than the BL755 cluster bomb.
In combat Brimstone has demonstrated accuracy and reliability "both well above 90 percent"
according to the MoD; Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Dalton has said that 98.3% to 98.7%
of Brimstone fired in Libya "did exactly what we expected".
Targeting and sensors Brimstone is a "fire and forget" missile,
which is loaded with targeting data by the Weapon Systems Officer prior to launch. It
is programmable to adapt to particular mission requirements. This capability includes essentially
the ability to find targets within a certain area, and to self-destruct if it is unable
to find a target within the designated area. This information is provided to the munition
by the WSO from RAF ASTOR, USAF JSTARS aircraft or local troops.
In addition to the semi-autonomous ability to decide its own targets, the Brimstone has
the capacity to determine where on a target to best impact causing the most damage or
resulting in elimination of the target. The missile's advanced sensor package includes
its extremely high frequency millimetric wave radar, which allows the weapon to image the
target and hence choose a target location. With as many as twenty-four missiles in the
air, the missile's targeting system also required an algorithm to ensure that missiles hit their
targets in a staggered order, rather than all simultaneously.
Brimstone can be fired in a number of attack profiles; direct or indirect against single
targets, a column of targets or against an array of targets. The latter utilises a salvo
attack capability for multiple kills per engagement. Once launched, the platform is free to manoeuvre
away from the target area or engage another target array.
Launch system 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 could carry up to six launch systems on six individual
pylons, which gives a maximum payload of eighteen Brimstone missiles, in addition to a useful
air-to-air payload. The missile is carried by the Tornado GR4 in RAF service. In February
2014 the National Audit Office warned of a possible capability gap under existing plans
to fit Brimstone to Typhoon in 2021, two years after the Tornado retired; in June 2014 the
MoD announced a study to accelerate this to 2018 and look at a common launcher that could
also launch Spear. MBDA have fired test rounds from an MQ-9 Reaper and are studying the use
of Brimstone on attack helicopters and from surface launchers; it will be integrated with
the F-35 Lightning II when it enters British service. Both the US and France have expressed
interest in buying it for their aircraft. It was intended that Brimstone would be integrated
on the RAF Harrier fleet under Capability D of the JUMP programme with a scheduled in-service
date of 2009. A Harrier GR9 first flew with 12 Brimstone on 14 February 2007, and the
RAF released video of a Tornado using a Dual Mode Brimstone against an Afghan insurgent
in 2008. In late 2009 Brimstone was "nearing completion for integration on the Harrier"
but in July 2010 it was reported that Brimstone on the Harrier would be postponed until the
insensitive-munition version of the missile became available in 2012. Brimstone had not
been officially cleared for use on the type when the UK Harriers were withdrawn from service
in late 2010. Development
The missile was 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. GEC-Marconi was originally awarded the contract on 7 November
1996. The programme ended up nearly 3 years late.
The first ground firing of the Brimstone missile occurred in August 1999, followed by the first
air-launched firing from a Tornado GR4 in September 2000. Clearance of the missile was
delayed by 12 months due to the unavailability of a Tornado trials aircraft, as the RAF chose
instead to rush the development of the Storm Shadow air launched cruise missile ahead of
the Iraq war, but another delay of 6 months resulted from redesigning the autopilot for
safe release at higher speeds. Over 2,000 missiles were produced.
The original Brimstone could not be used in Afghanistan as the rules of engagement required
a "man-in-the-loop". Under an Urgent Operational Requirement in 2008, modifications were made
to the seeker and software of over 300 existing missiles to create Dual-Mode Brimstone. The
new missiles can be laser guided according to the STANAG 3733 standard as well as retaining
the millimetre wave seeker; the pilot can select either mode from the cockpit or use
both simultaneously. Laser guidance allows specific enemy targets to be picked out in
cluttered environments, the mmW radar ensures accuracy against moving targets.
The development and procurement of the original single-mode missiles cost £370m, a figure
inflated by accounting charges relating to the delays. The development of the dual-mode
version cost an additional £10m. The Daily Telegraph reports that the dual mode missiles
cost £105,000, which is comparable to the cost of the AGM-65 Maverick; the MoD quote
only a gross book value of £175,000, which includes development costs as well as the
purchase cost of the missile. Upgrading a single-mode missile to dual mode costs between
£35,000 and £45,000 plus VAT, depending on quantities ordered.
In March 2010 Brimstone was selected as the basis for the RAF's requirement under the
Selective Precision Effects At Range Capability 2 Block 1 programme. The Demonstration and
Manufacture contract will increase the missile's performance "significantly", and convert the
warhead and rocket motor to use insensitive munitions. Brimstone 2 will have an improved
seeker, a more modular design and improvements to airframe and software for "an overall increase
in performance with improvements in range and engagement footprint", including a "more
than 200% increase" in maximum range. A five-release test campaign in October 2013 culminated in
a successful strike against a pickup truck travelling at 70 mph in a cluttered road
environment and Brimstone 2 is planned to enter service on the Tornado in November 2015.
At the same time MBDA were awarded an Assessment Phase contract for SPEAR Capability 3. This
is specified to have a range of at least 100km, however the UK MoD and MBDA believe that they
can achieve over 120km. The weapon will make substantial reuse of Brimstone modules. The
2 m weapon will fly at high-subsonic speed using a turbojet and wing kit, and will feature
a multimode seeker with INS/GPS guidance and datalink. The assessment phase will conclude
with flight trials in 2014 on Typhoon. The missile is set to use the same Hamilton Sundstrand
TJ-150 turbojet as the JSOW-ER. MBDA have shown artwork of a four-missile launcher on
a single Typhoon weapon station, and four will fit with a Meteor air-to-air missile
in each internal weapons bay of the F-35B. MBDA has started testing a maritime variant
called Brimstone Sea Spear for use against swarms of small boats. On 25 June 2012 a Tornado
GR4 dropped a prototype that hit and sank a 6-metre inflatable boat travelling at 20
kts in sea state 3. The following month MBDA said that a viable system could be offered
"within months"; the initial focus is on deployment from fast jets and surface launchers, MBDA
is marketing it in the Gulf for installation on vessels down to 15 m. On 29 May 2013, MBDA
conducted a salvo firing of three millimetric wave operational Brimstone missiles, launched
from a fixed offshore platform, against a simulated attack formation of five targets
representing FIACs. The successful test firing demonstrated Brimstone Sea Spear’s ability
to strike numerous individual targets. During the test one of the targets, a 15-m craft,
was travelling at 20 knots. The Sea Spear competed with the Raytheon Sea Griffin missile
for integration onto American Littoral combat ships. The Navy instead selected the AGM-114L
Hellfire as a stop-gap missile for the LCS. Operational Use
Royal Air Force In March 2005, Brimstone entered service with
No. 31 Squadron RAF. Full Operational Capability was declared for the Tornado GR4 in December
2005 The first operational sortie of dual-mode Brimstone was over Iraq as part of Operation
TELIC on 18 December 2008 by a Tornado GR4 of IX(B) Squadron. It was first fired in combat
in June 2009, the month that the Tornado GR4's of 12 Squadron arrived in Afghanistan as part
of Operation HERRICK. Brimstone was used extensively during Operation
ELLAMY over Libya in 2011. According to a British Ministry of Defence News report, dated
26 March 2011, RAF Tornado GR4 aircraft launched several Brimstone missiles over the towns
of Misrata and Ajdabiya destroying a total of five armoured vehicles belonging to the
Gaddafi regime. Sixty Brimstone were fired in the first four weeks of the Libya campaign,
out of 110 Brimstone fired in all operations up to that time. This prompted the MoD to
ask MBDA to convert more missiles to the dual-mode version. 150 dual-mode missiles had been ordered
in December 2010, but according to the Royal United Services Institute, stocks of usable
dual-mode missiles fell to single figures at one stage of the Libya campaign. The 500th
dual-mode Brimstone was delivered in March 2012, at which time over 200 had been fired
in combat. The single-mode missile was not fired in combat until 15 September 2011 when
a pair of RAF Tornado GR4 of IX(B) Squadron fired 22 missiles against an armoured column
near Sebha/Sabha, 400 miles south of Tripoli. In September 2014, Tornado GR4 strike aircraft
of No. 2 Squadron RAF began flying armed sorties over Iraq in support of Operation Shader,
the UK's contribution to the US-led 2014 military intervention against ISIS. On September 30,
the aircraft made their first airstrikes, engaging a heavy artillery position with a
Paveway IV laser-guided bomb and an armed pickup truck with a Brimstone air-to-ground
missile. Brimstone is the preferred weapon for these kinds of targets because it is the
only air-launched low-fragmentation fire-and-forget weapon that is effective against against moving
targets that the allied inventory possesses. Export sales
Around £10 million of Brimstones from the RAF stock were sold to the Royal Saudi Air
Force for use on their Tornados. In April 2011, the RAF's Assistant Chief of the Air
Staff Air Vice Marshal Baz North reported that the missiles were "being sought by both
the United States of America and the French" in the light of Brimstone's success in Libya.
France's DGA procurement agency held meetings in late May 2011 to discuss a lightweight
air-to-surface weapon for the Dassault Rafale; Stéphane Reb of the DGA would merely say
that "Brimstone is a solution, but it's not the only option". In early 2014 the US Congress'
House Armed Services Committee showed interest again in the missile; high-ranking members
of the US armed services have stated they "like it" and if they do choose it they "need
it out soon". The French Air Force were still thinking about a purchase in March 2012, with
a prime consideration being lower collateral damage compared to the AASM. India has made
a request for information about integrating Brimstone on their Sukhoi Su-30MKI fleet.
MBDA hopes that firings conducted in the U.S. intended for the U.K. to test the feasibility
of arming British MQ-9 Reaper UAVs with the missile will persuade the U.S. military to
purchase the Brimstone 2. In July 2014, it was revealed that the United States Navy was
beginning environmental and integration analysis of the Dual Mode Brimstone for use on the
F/A-18 Super Hornet. The U.S. Army is also considering the Brimstone as "an option" in
its Joint Air-to-Ground Missile program. Operators
Saudi Arabia
Royal Saudi Air Force
United Kingdom
Royal Air Force
See also AGM-65 Maverick
AGM-169 Joint Common Missile Kh-38
Helina Nimrod
PARS 3 LR Joint Air to Ground Missile
References Notes
Citations
Bibliography
External links MBDA: Brimstone
Brimstone Project Details and Specifications RAF page on Brimstone missile