ALARM

     Notes:  This is the antiradiation missile most normally carried by European aircraft. It was first used in combat in the 1991 Gulf War and proved very effective in the Gulf War and the Twilight War.  The missile has a loiter capability; if it loses its target, the missile will climb to 12,000 meters, deploy a parachute, and slowly descend over the last known location of the target, waiting for more radar emissions.  It can also home in on the last known location of its target, achieving a hit that way. 

Weapon

Difficulty

Guidance

Weight

Price

ALARM

Easy

Antiradiation

200 kg

$32290

 

Weapon

Speed

Round

Min Range

Max Range

Damage

Pen

ALARM

5100

HE-FRAG

400

40000

C80  B130

28C

 

MDBA Brimstone

     Notes: The Brimstone is an air-launched antiarmor missile, originally designed for use by RAF attack aircraft.  It was quickly discovered that the Brimstone was not much bigger then, though heavier, than a Hellfire, and it was okayed for use on British, Saudi, and German Helicopters. MDBA is also studying the Brimstone for use on UAVs and from surface launchers, particularly from ships.  The US, France, India, and Indonesia have also expressed interest in the Brimstone.  First combat use was by the RAF in Libya.

 

Brimstone 1

     The Brimstone uses a millimetric radar wave for guidance, though a later version can home in on a laser source in high-ECM environments or in places where the ground weather is bad.  The warhead is a tandem HEAT warhead that is designed not only to defeat armor, but for use against fortifications, particularly those made of reinforced concrete. Brimstone can be fired in ripples for use against columns of vehicles or especially hard targets.  Once locked on and launched, the Brimstone goes into fire-and-forget mode, and if the target is in the Brimstone software aboard the launching vehicle or so designated by the WSO, the Brimstone can on its own pick out the most vulnerable spot on a vehicle or fortification.  As many as 24 Brimstones may be in the air and controlled by one designating aircraft, and targets may be changed after launch by a guiding aircraft.

    Being much heavier than the Hellfire, only three Brimstones may be mounted on an MER (though four will fit in an F-35B’s weapons bays, along with a Meteor AAM).  Brimstones have been tested by the US with launches from an MQ-9 Reaper UAV, with one Brimstone under each wing instead of the normal complement of two Hellfires per wing.

 

Dual-Mode Brimstone

     The original impetus for the Dual-Mode Brimstone was the rules of engagement imposed on aerial ordnance in Afghanistan.  There was often close proximity between Taliban forces and civilians, and Taliban males and civilian males usually dressed the same way and were likewise armed.  The Afghanistan ROE requires that there be a “man in the loop” – an operator which can guide the missile or destroy it in flight if necessary.  For the Brimstone, this required the addition of a laser seeker, so the gunner could know when a missile should be destroyed short of its target or sent flying off in an arbitrary direction.  The designator need not be the aircraft to fired the missile, or even an aircraft;; individual soldiers can carry a designator, or FISTV vehicles or other vehicles with designators may be used.  The MMW seeker may be used at the same time as the laser seeker, to essentially double the chances to hit; when used in dual mode, this version of the Brimstone has a +3 to hit, above any other bonuses.

 

Brimstone 2

     Brimstone 2, also known as SPEAR 2 (Selective Precision  Effects At Range) and FAHW (Future Attack Helicopter Weapon), increases the safety to ground crews and ground fire by the use of incentive rocket propellant and insensitive warhead explosives.  It has an improved MMW seeker and retains the laser seek mode. The warhead and seeker are designed to be modular, so that merely warheads need to be changed instead of the entire missile, and the seeker can be updated as they become available. The standard warhead is supplemented with an AT/Antimateriel warhead, able to be effective against vehicles, buildings, fortifications, and troops in the open.  The Brimstone 2 can be given a straight-in (LOS) trajectory, a top-down trajectory, and a high-low trajectory.  The warhead can also use airburst, delayed detonation (with KEP capability), and proximity fuzing. Brimstone 2 began service in 2016, and has been used by Qatari and Saudi aircraft in combat.  The RAF is expected to begin combat use of Brimstone 2 in Syria and Iraq against ISIS in 2020.

 

Brimstone 3

     Still in the testing phase, the Brimstone 3 is a ground-mounted launcher for three Brimstone missiles, with the launcher being equipped with an MMW radar and a laser designator.

 

Sea Spear

     Also known as the Naval-Launched Brimstone (though it can also be launched from aircraft).  The Sea Spear is, however, designed for use against small-boat swarms and it’s chief warhead is a Flechette warhead.  It has been demonstrated hitting a 6-meter boat in Sea State 3, moving at 30 knots.  It has also been tested against a squadron of full-speed Fast Boats, eliminating them. MDBA says that the Sea Spear is just out of development and is ready for sale.

 

SPEAR 3

     Still in testing, the SPEAR 3 Brimstone is a standoff attack weapon designed to be used attack targets 360 kilometers away.  This is done with a rocket launch motor and a turbojet sustainer. It will fly at high subsonic speeds, and will use a wing kit.  Guidance is by a multimode seeker, but using a combination of INS and GPS. SPEAR 3 capability will be integrated in the software package of the RAF’s F-35Bs in the British Block 4 upgrades, and British Typhoons will also be upgraded to carry SPEAR 3.

     The SPEAR EW is an ARM version of the SPEAR 3, to be used against enemy radars, communication nodes, and possibly even radar-homing missiles and SAMs.  Work is being done to allow the SPEAR EW to be effective against large radar-using aircraft like AWACS aircraft.  Like the SPEAR 3, the SPEAR EW is still in its testing phase.

Weapon

Difficulty

Guidance

Weight

Price

Brimstone 1

Average

MMR/FF

48.5 kg

$67985

Dual-Mode Brimstone

Average*

MMR/Laser/FF

48.6 kg

$68485

Brimstone 2

Easy

MMR/Laser/FF

50 kg

$89925

Sea Spear

Easy

INS/MMW/Laser

60 kg

$90028

SPEAR 3

Easy

INS/GPS

100 kg

$90600

SPEAR EW

Easy

Anti-Radiation

100 kg

$93350

 

Weapon

Speed

Round

Min Range

Max Range

Damage

Pen

Brimstone 1/Dual-Mode Brimstone

2250

HEAT-FRAG

200

20000

C55  B83

104C/207C

Brimstone 2 (Airburst Mode)

2250

KEP/HEAT-FRAG

200

40000

C64  B110

20C

Brimstone 2 (Antiarmor Mode)

2250

KEP/HEAT-FRAG

200

40000

C49  B100

105C/209C

Brimstone 2 (Delayed Mode)

2250

KEP/HEAT-FRAG

200

40000

C49  B100

116C/209C

Sea Spear (Flechette Warhead)

2250

Flechette

100

20000

D: 90 Degrees, 100 m

1-Nil

Sea Spear (Antiarmor/Ship Mode)

2250

HEAT/FRAG

100

20000

C55 B100

116C/209C

SPEAR 3

1207

HEAT/FRAG

500

360 km

C55 B100

116C/209C

SPEAR EW

1207

HEAT/FRAG

300

360 km

C64  B120

20C