Weapons

US Army to ramp-up Hellfire production

The US Army has ordered an increase in production of the AGM-114 Hellfire laser-guided missile from the current 500 all-up rounds (AURs) per month to 650 AURs per month, the Department of Defense (DoD) disclosed on 25 June.

The USD18 million contract awarded to original equipment manufacturer Lockheed Martin will see an incremental rise to 550 AURs in the first instance, before ramping-up again to 650 AURs. This final rate will be achieved by 30 November 2016.