RAF unveils Brimstone precision strike missile

RAF unveils Brimstone precision strike missile

A video of the first battlefield firing of the RAF's long-delayed Brimstone missile is released by the RAF today.

The video shows a "smart" Brimstone missile guided to its target with what RAF pilots called "pinpoint accuracy".

An insurgent in southern Afghanistan had been shooting at Nato forces from a building in a compound. He tried to hide himself by burrowing inside a wall – what British troops call a "murder hole".

Source


More details on the Brimstone Missile system

Specification

* Length: 1.8 m
* Diameter: 17.8 cm
* Weight: 48.5 kg
* Range: 20+ km
* Speed: Supersonic
* Control: Aerodynamic surfaces on missile
* Propulsion: Solid-rocket
* Guidance: 94 GHz Millimetric wave radar (MMW) & digital autopilot
* Warhead: HEAT tandem warhead - initial charge triggers reactive armour followed by the main high explosive anti-tank shaped charge jet
* Fuze: Crush fuze (detonation on impact)

What an opportune moment to release this video

Nice post and about time too. About Brimstone, I mean.

I saw this last year on our start up web page, along with the UAV Taranis. It got me thinking that perhaps Taranis could be armed with Brimstone.

I did have a good laugh when I read that "Brimstone was launched from a Harrier, flying above 3,000 feet, although the exact height is classified!"

Are we to take it that the maximum ceiling for Brimstone is classified or that Harribirds can fly higher than their published ceiling of 50,000 feet?

reply to post by fritz


Thanks, it's about time we had some news about Brimstone... and I would assume that Taranis would be armed with Brimstone.. Make a nice hunter killer weapons platform :-)

Although I wonder about the timing, these things are released for a reason..

I've wondered if it was a "look we are giving our troops full support", Given that the expenses scandal in the UK broke supposedly over soldiers working outside their military duties to pay for kit, but it's not really being hyped up by the Gov so I don't buy that one.

Was it a "hey we no longer use cluster bombs" but again, that's not really being hyped, so I don't buy that as a reason. And the dates as for how long Brimstone has been operational on the battlefield are pretty vague.

or given the nature of the video released which was to take out a single man hiding in a hole and the timing of recent events, perhaps it's a message to say we can take out, oh lets say a nations leader in one shot.

Not sure but I wonder about the timing and the nature of the video being released, then all this classified stuff about operational ceilings makes me wonder.

Edit for Clarity

[edit on 26/9/09 by thoughtsfull]

reply to post by thoughtsfull


I wonder if this is a "live test" of the missile in preparation to the mating of the missile to the Mantis armed UAV as part of the growing imperative to advance the design into an in-theatre role. It would be certainly good if that was the case...

Taranis is (IMHO) a bit futher down the line.

Regards

reply to post by thoughtsfull


so they killed some guy who had it in mind that the occupation of his country is wrong, the murder of his family and relatives is wrong and the wanton slaughter of his countrymen is wrong. He decides to fight back at the invaders.

Meanwhile from the safety and comfort of your couch, you get to watch him get blown up in high definition surround sound.

What a world

reply to post by paraphi


I am sure that this missile has been married to as many other aircraft as possible... who is to say what it was actually fired from in this video!

And it wouldn't surprise me if this was part of the reason why Jock Stirrup was in Israel for 3 days last week. Source

Defense Ministry officials said the talks focused on the development of new military platforms, and the joint Israel-US Juniper Cobra missile defense exercise that will take place next month.

Hmmm, I do wonder.

reply to post by warrenb


You say "what a world" But I can not say I see that Humans have changed since they have been going to watch people be hung, beheaded, mutilated, stoned and many other nasty things for a long long time, I mean even now we get the odd gory video of the Evil Westerner getting his head cut off.. which a lot of people watch (I never intend to)

Yet who is to say that a human was actually in the wall in this particular video at the time of the explosion! I certainly do not take there word as granted.

Now I don't agree with the War in Afghanistan for 2 reasons, but my main reason is that I see no reason to be there on the ground in the first place, and the only strategy I can see is that we are their to battle train our troops and surround Iran. I'll keep my view until I learn otherwise that I am wrong.

However the valiant resistance fighter / evil terrorist argument is always dependent on which side of the fence you view these things, again you only have to walk back through history to see the same things being repeated over and over, so no real change in Human nature there either.

Personally at the moment I think the world sucks.. but that is simply my humble opinion.

To me it just looked like another guided bomb, blowing up a wall nothing special but.. Brimstone, what an awesome name for a weapon system