Brimstone

Brimstone is a UK-developed air-launched precision anti-armour missile, derived from the US AGM-114 Hellfire but with significant upgrades including a millimetre-wave active radar seeker enabling it to autonomously identify and engage moving armoured targets. The UK supplied Brimstone missiles to Ukraine as part of its early military aid packages in 2022. The dual-mode variant adds laser guidance alongside the mmW radar, enabling use in urban environments where autonomous targeting requires human confirmation.

Autonomous area-denial anti-armour; suppression of armoured vehicle concentrations; precision strikes on moving AFVs Ukraine received Brimstone missiles as part of UK military aid in 2022. They were adapted for Su-24M and possibly other fixed-wing aircraft. Brimstones proved highly effective against Russian armoured convoys in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia directions, where vehicle concentrations could be targeted in open terrain. The dual-mode laser guidance enabled more precise use in populated areas. The UK provided hundreds of Brimstones through 2023–2024 as part of successive aid packages.

Ukraine (UK-supplied). First documented use in Ukraine: 2022-10-15.

Autonomous target discrimination — mmW radar identifies individual armoured vehicles Ripple-fire capability — one pass, multiple separate targets engaged Very low miss probability against armoured vehicles (<1 m CEP with dual mode) Small warhead minimises collateral damage vs larger missiles Supersonic speed — limited reaction time for target vehicle crew

Short range (~12 km) — aircraft must approach within engagement zones mmW radar may be degraded by certain terrain, vegetation, or countermeasures Small warhead — less effective against reinforced structures or heavy MBT frontal armour Complex maintenance — autonomous guidance system requires specialist support

The Brimstone has a range of ~12 km (air-launched). Brimstone is notable for its "fire-and-forget" autonomous target acquisition using mmW radar — a single aircraft can ripple-fire multiple Brimstones that individually discriminate and engage separate armoured targets. Ukraine used them against Russian vehicle concentrations and river crossing attempts. Brimstone-2 has double the range of the original variant.