The Hellfire is used in conjunction with the helicopter’s sensors to engage and destroy targets out to a maximum range of 8 km. The warhead is effective against all levels of enemy armor and is typically a one-shot, one kill weapon. The -114L is radar guided and is a fire-and-forget weapon that will actively seek out the pre-launch designated target whereas the -114K is a laser guided variant that requires the launching aircraft to “illuminate” the target with a laser designator. By definition the -114K requires line of sight (LOS) during the terminal phase of the missile flight path in order to guide properly to the target.
A typical Hellfire engagement is to fly into an attack position with your active sensors off to avoid alerting the enemy to your location, acquiring the target with a sensor then launching your weapon. Two different engagement profiles are available for the Hellfire: Lock On Before Launch (LOBL) and Lock On After Launch (LOAL).
A straight-forward LOBL launch merely requires you to sight a target with a sensor, lock on to the target then launch your weapon. In the case of radar Hellfire (-114L) you are free to switch and engage other targets as soon as your missile is on the way. With a laser Hellfire (-114K) you will be required to maintain a lock while the missile flies to the target. The LOBL launch mode provides the maximum range for your Hellfire because the missile flies a relatively flat profile straight toward the target.
Here we’ve locked up a BMP-2 armored vehicle on our radar. In the HUD we can see that we are in LOBL mode as indicated under the weapon type information and the targeting box is a small solid square indicating that we have LOS on the target. Be aware that when you launch in LOBL mode the flat trajectory of the missile flight path could cause the missile to impact high terrain to your front or any other obstacle (such as buildings) that may lie in the flight path of the missile. The time to missile impact is also displayed on the HUD under the LOBL mode information.
And here the Hellfire is about to reach the target on the low flying “LOBL” profile.
The second method to engage targets is using the Lock On After Launch mode (LOAL) where you detect the targets, remain hidden behind cover, shoot your missiles, and in the case of laser Hellfires redesignate the target prior to missile impact. With radar Hellfires you can launch without LOS once the targets have been identified and you can launch the missiles as fast as you can cycle through the targets that were previously detected and are stored in the fire control computer.
Here we have detected multiple targets with the radar and have dropped below a ridge to shield us from being engaged. The lack of LOS is denoted on the radar by the hollow target symbols and the dashed line around the target designator box on the HUD.
Launching multiple radar Hellfires by squeezing the launch trigger then hitting the target switch button and firing in rapid sequence sends multiple Hellfires on the way, each targeting a separate vehicle without additional guidance required by our sensors. You can see the missiles raining down on the targets from above since the LOAL mode sends the Hellfires in a high arcing flight profile which also reduces the effective range of the Hellfire by about 500 meters.
The LOAL mode is useful not only for maintaining cover while conducting radar Hellfire attacks, but also in cases where obstructions or terrain impede your LOS to the target, requiring the loft flight profile of LOAL mode.
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