The MBDA Brimstone is Albion's precision sword.
While the Brimstone is only operationally carried by aircraft today, it is actually a versatile weapon that can also be launched from land and sea platforms. Its integration with new aviation platforms is also being prepared, including the Leonardo M-346FA Light Combat Aircraft.
The Polish Army is experiencing a shortage of effective high-precision weapons that could eliminate or at least balance the numerical and qualitative advantage in the armored vehicles of a potential enemy. An affordable solution to this problem could be the MBDA Brimstone guided missile. Proof that modern high-precision weapons are more important than super-expensive carriers, especially when they do not have such weapons.
One of the most important lessons to be learned from any armed conflict is the ability to draw appropriate conclusions that can be effective in the future. Among the many positive examples that fit this rule perfectly is the MBDA Brimstone guided missile.
The emergence and development of the structure
Operation Desert Storm became a special moment in the development of modern combat aviation and weapons - incl. on an unprecedented scale, she used high-precision air-to-ground weapons. For the British, at least in the first phase of the air campaign, it was also painful because of the tactics used by the Royal Air Force - Panavia Tornado GR.1 attack aircraft sent to the Middle East for fear of a continuation of the Iraqi offensive received BL755 cluster bombs and cassettes for unguided missiles. These weapons were to be used to eliminate armored targets. The main disadvantages of bombs and NPR were: short range, which made the aircraft unprotected from enemy air defenses, and low accuracy.
The first analyzes of the results of the air campaign indicated the need for the Royal Air Force to introduce an accurate anti-tank system into the arsenal of combat aviation. The concepts analyzed included the development and construction of a completely new type of missile or the purchase of the American AGM-65 Maverick. In 1993, the UK Department of Defense published the 3AW (Advanced Anti-Armor Weapon) requirements, which stated that the new weapon should have a range of over 12 km and a fire-and-forget guidance system. No other technical elements were specified, which gave a wide range of manufacturers a chance - an important aspect was to be the low cost of purchase.
Eventually, in 1996, the British Ministry of Defense decided to opt for the GEC-Marconi (now MBDA UK) proposal. His proposal concerned a guided missile based on the solutions of the American AGM-114 Hellfire ATGM, which was also planned to be used on licensed Westland WAH-64 Apache Longbow helicopters. Rockwell International (at that time the manufacturer of the AGM-114) became an important partner of the British concern, which was to finalize the design of the Hellfire, as well as develop a launcher for a multi-purpose supersonic combat aircraft and cooperate in integrating the missile with them. Due to the small size and weight of the gun, it was possible to hang up to three missile launchers on each beam, which made it possible to significantly increase the number of missiles carried, and hence the “firepower” of one aircraft. In 1996, it was assumed that the new weapon system would enter service in 2001. The first carriers were to be the Panavia Tornado GR.4 / 4A, BAE Systems Harrier GR.7 / 9 / 9A and SEPECAT Jaguar GR.3 /. Assault vehicles 3A. Unfortunately, at the time of signing the contract, no one foresaw delays in the program, as well as cuts in the budget of the Ministry of Defense, which contributed to a reduction in the number of types of attack aircraft used, which led to the withdrawal of the Jaguars (2007) and then the Harriers (2010). .).
The first launch of a rocket from a ground position took place in August 1999, and the first launch from an aircraft took place in September 2000. The project was delayed due to technical problems associated with autopilot failures and the absence of. .. Tornado will be used during the research and development phase for flight testing and qualification testing. This was partly due to the higher priority of integrating the MBDA Storm Shadow maneuvering missiles with the vehicle, as well as geopolitical changes following the terrorist attacks in September 2001, which forced the RAF to resume armed conflict.
The test and qualification procedure was eventually completed in mid-2004, paving the way for the implementation of the Brimstone system for RAF weaponry.
In 2008, an intervention program was launched to convert approximately 300 missiles, which included changing the guidance system from active radar homing (millimeter wave radar) to a dual-band linking radar head and laser beam receiver. They were called Dual Mode Brimstone (DMB). The above batch has been used in testing and operational activities since 2009. Thanks to the combat successes, the Ministry of Defense continued to order new copies in this version.
In 2010, the UK Department of Defense began work on a new generation of Brimstone missile, which was named Brimstone 2 (it is worth remembering that subsequent digital suffixes are mostly media terms, while MBDA UK simply uses the name Brimstone for each new version of the missile ). The recommended changes include the use of new warhead modules with the introduction of fragmentation-insensitive material, as well as the use of a rocket engine, the parameters of which have increased the range, and its fuel also meets the criteria for noise immunity. To facilitate future upgrades, changes were made to the design of the rocket, thanks to which it became modular - among the advantages - increased service life and reduced logistics costs.
Currently, the only active missile carriers are Panavia Tornado GR.4 / 4A aircraft. Previously, the missile was also integrated with the GR.9/9A Harriers, which were withdrawn as part of budget cuts and did not have time to enter service in this configuration. Currently, integration work is underway related to the armament of Eurofighter Typhoon combat aircraft, which should be completed at the end of this year. In addition, MBDA UK and the MoD are implementing a project to integrate the missile with AH-64E Guardian helicopters and MQ-9B Protector RG Mk 1 unmanned aerial vehicles.
