Hellfire contract for Lockheed

Lockheed Martin has been awarded a contract by Eurocopter to support integration of the Hellfire II precision-strike missile and all-digital M299 "smart" missile launcher on the Tiger attack helicopter. Terms of the contract were not disclosed.

The 54-month integration effort includes the supply of training missiles, inert missiles, 80 M299 missile launchers and test equipment.

Under provisions of the contract, integration activities will occur at the Eurocopter facility in Marignane, France, with ground tests beginning in October 2007 and flight tests in March 2008.

Eurocopter awarded the contract to Lockheed Martin in support of its Tiger integration contract with the multi-national European Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation.

The Hellfire II family includes three warhead variations to defeat a broad target set: the high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) missile, or AGM-114K, which defeats all known and projected armoured threats; the AGM-114M blast fragmentation missile, which defeats "soft" targets such as boats, buildings, bunkers and light-armoured vehicles; and the metal augmented charge (MAC) missile, or AGM-114N, which defeats enclosures and caves.