The U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency on March 16 announced that the State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of Poland of AGM-114R2 Hellfire missiles and related equipment for an estimated cost of $150 million. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale.
Follow Air Recognition on Google News at this link
Loading of a Hellfire II missile on an AH-64 Apache (Picture source: USAASC)
The Republic of Poland has requested to buy eight hundred (800) AGM-114R2 Hellfire missiles; and four (4) M36 Hellfire Captive Air Training Missiles (CATM). Also included is Tactical Aviation Ground Munition Program Office technical assistance; Security Assistance Management Directorate technical assistance; Joint Attack Munition Systems technical assistance; Classified and Unclassified publications; spare parts; repair and return; storage; and other related elements of logistics and program support. The total estimated cost is $150 million.
The principal contractor will be Lockheed Martin Corporation, Orlando, FL. Implementation of this proposed sale will not require the assignment of any additional U.S. Government or contractor representatives to Poland.
The AGM-114 Hellfire is an air-to-ground missile (AGM) first developed for anti-armor use, later developed for precision drone strikes against other target types, especially high-value targets. It was originally developed under the name Heliborne laser, a fire-and-forget missile, which led to the colloquial name "Hellfire" ultimately becoming the missile's formal name. It has a multi-mission, multi-target precision-strike ability and can be launched from multiple air, sea, and ground platforms, including the MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper. The Hellfire missile is the primary 100-pound (45 kg) class air-to-ground precision weapon for the armed forces of the United States and many other nations. It has also been fielded on surface platforms in the surface-to-surface and surface-to-air roles.
AGM-114Â Hellfire II missile (Picture source: Wikipedia)
