The AGM-114 Hellfire is a modern American air-to-ground missile. Its first prototypes appeared in the early 1970s, and mass production began in 1982. The AGM-114 is a solid-fuel missile with a range of 500 to 8,000 meters, capable of carrying a warhead weighing 8 kg, and its total mass is 45 kg.
AGM-114 Hellfire was designed to destroy mainly armored vehicles and other enemy vehicles. Although all versions of this missile are classified as fire-and-forgot, only the newest one (AGM-114L) does not require a laser beam to be illuminated to the target. Many versions of the AGM-114 Hellfire missile were created in the course of serial production. The AGM-114A was the first to be produced on a large scale. The next versions were B and C, which were characterized by a more perfect engine leaving a smaller thermal trace and better protection of the missile head against unwanted detonation. Another version is the AGM-114N, which has a thermobaric head, designed to destroy the enemy's living force hiding in caves or rock caves. The latest version is AGM-114L, which has extensive and autonomous missile guidance systems. It has a tandem HEAT warhead, dedicated to destroying armored targets. The AGM-114 Hellfire missiles are used by many American helicopters, including: AH-1 Cobra, AH-64 Apache, UH-60 Black Hawk and MH-60 Seahawk, as well as MQ-1 Predator drones. Missiles of this type were used for the first time during an operation in Panama in 1990. AGM-114 is also used by many foreign recipients, including Australia, Croatia, Egypt, France, Greece and Great Britain.