M113 GLH-H hellfire launcher

[lastdingo]

Hat tip to tank-net.org:

http://www.heartlandmuseum.com/album/album1/Museum_Photos/museum_photos_7.html

Prototype Hellfire Missile Launcher

This vehicle is a prototype (Serial no. 1) of a proposed ground launch system for the Hellfire missile. It was manufactured in 1989. HELLFIRE is a family of missiles designed primarily to be launched from attack helicopters. This M 113 Armored Personnel Carrier was modified to carry a laser designated and launch system operated by a two man crew. The missile is designed to home on a laser illuminated target. As long as the target is illuminated the missile will hit the target. The launch team can search for another target as soon as the missile is launched. This vehicle could carry eight missiles and would be a formidable battlefield weapon. The concept was not developed so this is the only vehicle of it's type. The HELLFIRE however may replace the TOW missile on Bradley Fighting Vehicles.

 

[Grey Havoc]

https://www.reddit.com/r/tanks/comments/rgtfha

View: https://www.reddit.com/r/tanks/comments/rgtfha/m113_hellfire/

M113 Hellfire

The M113 Hellfire is a Tier 9 progression Tank Destroyer under Oscar Faraday's dealership. Class: Self-Propelled ATGM Launcher (Prototype) Developed: 1989 Service: N/A Vehicles Built: 1 Operators: N/A The M113 Hellfire is essentially an M113A2 hull paired with a prototype turret by Electronic...

armoredwarfare.fandom.com

The M113 Hellfire is essentially an M113A2 hull paired with a prototype turret by Electronic and Space Corporation (ESCO), featuring eight launcher tubes for the Hellfire ATGM. It was designed to significantly increase the firepower of American mechanized units. A single prototype was built in 1989 and underwent some military tests but, with the end of the Cold War, the project was discontinued. This, plus multiple other cancelled defense contracts, would get ESCO into a lot of trouble financially – trouble that the company would only gradually overcome in the 1990s by moving away from the military sector to a civilian one. Fortunately, the company managed to diversify its portfolio enough to survive and is alive and well to this day. As for the prototype – it ended in the Heartland Museum of Military Vehicles near Lexington, Nebraska, where it is being cared for by a squad of volunteers.

 

[Grey Havoc]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1195217321880506368

View: https://twitter.com/vinoddx9/status/1195217321880506368?lang=eu

 

[Grey Havoc]

Interestingly enough, it appears that material relating to the 'Hellfire Under Armor' program were part of the great DTIC purges in recent times.

 

[trajan]

I

In 1989, a company called Electronic and Space Corporation (ESCO) developed and produced a prototype turret that could be fitted on multiple vehicles, including the Bradley and the M113. The turret consisted of a manned module (two men – commander and gunner) with a laser designator (of the existing type used by the U.S. Army and the U.S. Marine Corps) and eight AGM-114 Hellfire launchers that could be fired one at a time. Two missile types were considered:

AGM-114A Hellfire

AGM-114F Interim Hellfire

Being made of aluminum, the turret (much like the hull) only offered basic small arms protection. Against enemy troops, it had little to offer in terms of defense except for a battery of smoke grenade launchers and a 12.7mm machinegun.

Much like Oerlikon-Contraves’ ADATS, ESCO’s Hellfire turret was a private enterprise but, in this case, there would not be a happy ending. A single prototype was built and mounted on an M113A2 chassis with improved suspension.



The prototype was tested by the U.S. Army but the dissolution of the Soviet Union would ultimately doom this project along with many other ones.


As for the M113 chassis prototype – it ended in the Heartland Museum of Military Vehicles near Lexington, Nebraska, where it is being cared for by a squad of volunteers.


This is all I could find in writing about this unique Hellfire missile launcher, a weapon system with only the turret designated GLH-H, and a project in which the Marines had considerable interest (it was eventually replaced by the Army's AAWS-H).
But recently on btvt.info I found a part of the original PDF of this project that was uploaded last year (here is the relevant link) and it cheered me up. I tried to contact the uploader, but apparently poor Russian language skills failed me.

Recently I have been working on a submission to the staff of the video game "WAR THUNDER" to make this vehicle more known in a different way.

Unfortunately I am not able to go to the museum to measure the specification of the prototype at the moment (I am not in the USA).

So I would like to get help if I can get a full copy of this PDF, or a way to contact the uploader himself, or any way of detailing the performance parameters of this carrier.(｡•́︿•̀｡)

 

[trajan]

Link here：https://btvtinfo.blogspot.com/2022/06/ground-launched-hellfire-heavy-glh-h.html?m=1

 

[trajan]

This is the document I found showing the fate of the GLH program: it was replaced by the LOSAT kinetic missile program.

But I still haven't been able to find the exact performance parameters of the GLH program's M113 test vehicleԾ‸Ծ

 

[Orionblamblam]

Unfortunately I am not able to go to the museum...

It's a nice museum. been there a number of times. Took a number of photos of this vehicle, but I never made any measurements.

 

[Nik]

I suppose up-armouring to modern standards would make it too heavy, too slow, and a 'Big Juicy Target'...

Would hanging 'reactive-ish' panels on outside simply be a waste of resource ??

 

[TomS]

I suppose up-armouring to modern standards would make it too heavy, too slow, and a 'Big Juicy Target'...

Would hanging 'reactive-ish' panels on outside simply be a waste of resource ??

Modern versions of this (Brimstone carriers, for ex) don't need to operate so close to the front that they need significant uparmoring.

 

[jsport]

Given the highly dispersed and deep battle of the current conflict and the importance of BAI against HVTs such as SAMS, artillery, c2 and logistics vehicles -hubs even the SPEAR 3 w/ a long range and the near HellFire form factor could be useful as far forward as possible to exploit opportunities when they present. These vehicles will need be mobile, protected and with self defense firepower ie a Bradley would be idea .