Ability to engage multiple targets with a single mission load

Air power faces completely new forms of air-to-ground warfare that will certainly influence doctrine in the upcoming years or even decades. A key requirement includes precision-guided munitions that can be employed to combat fast moving targets. This scheme encompasses vehicles, tanks, armoured fighting vehicles and cars, as well as ships (including swarming and individual Fast In-shore Attack Craft), most of which are grouped as time-critical targets or TCTs. Both the military and industry warn that their engagement in restrictive engagement scenarios requires weapons that offer a high level of accuracy, thus minimising collateral damage to a maximum extent.

MBDA’s development in this segment, BRIMSTONE, is a combat-proven, low-collateral CAS weapon already delivered for an immediate requirement of Britain’s RAF. The precision attack munition is now also on offer to the German Air Force. The weapon offers fast jet operators the unique capability of engaging a wide range of target types in both land and naval environments and in both direct and indirect modes.

The latest generation BRIMSTONE builds upon the successful Brimstone Urgent Operational Requirement (UOR) that deployed the weapon into frontline operations with the RAF. Operationally deployed in the Afghan, Libyan, and Iraqi campaigns, the precision-guided munition has proven to be the ‘weapon of choice’, with its ability to perform surgical strikes in time-critical missions against both static and moving/manoeuvring targets. In addition to this, BRIMSTONE offers a true day/night capability, which makes it an ideal ‘rapid response’ weapon for CAS and Counter-Insurgence that is not possible from helicopters alone.

Key features of BRIMSTONE include: inertial mid-course navigation and seeker determination for target acquisition; compatibility with all STANAG 3733 laser designators; tandem shaped charge warhead effective against a wide variety of targets; capability to defeat all known conventional and reactive armour; minimal collateral damage in urban environments.

BRIMSTONE can be operated in three separate modes, each providing the user with flexibility and high confidence in mission success: SAL guidance to engage static targets with limited or no RCS; both SAL and millimetric wave (mmW) radar guidance for fast moving targets in cluttered environments; and fire-and-forget simultaneous target engagement. BRIMSTONE is fully integrated onto TORNADO GR4 combat aircraft and integration is underway on the Eurofighter TYPHOON and Future Attack Helicopter. The munition is also suitable for deployment on a wide variety of UAVs, land and naval platforms.

Visit MBDA Deutschland in Hall 1, Booth # 301 and Hall 3, Booth # 301