Brimstone ( missile ) Brimstone is an air - launched ground attack missile developed by MBDA for Britain ' s Royal Air Force . It was originally intended for " fire and forget " use against mass formations of enemy armour , using a millimetre wave ( mmW ) seeker to ensure accuracy even against moving targets . Experience in Afghanistan led to the addition of laser guidance in the dual - mode Brimstone missile , allowing a " man in the loop " to pick out specific targets when friendly forces or civilians were in the area . The Tandem Shaped charge warhead is much more effective against modern tanks than similar weapons such as the AGM - 65G Maverick , whilst the small blast area minimises collateral damage . Three Brimstones are carried on a launcher that occupies a single weapon station , allowing a single aircraft to carry many missiles . After a protracted development programme , single - mode or " millimetric " Brimstone entered service with RAF Tornados in 2005 , and the dual - mode variant in 2008 . The latter has been extensively used in Afghanistan and Libya . An improved Brimstone 2 will enter service in late 2013 and MBDA are working on the targeting of swarms of small boats under the name Sea Spear . The RAF are waiting for funding to fit Brimstone to their Eurofighter Typhoon s and planned to integrate it with their Harriers until they were withdrawn from service in 2010 . MBDA are studying the use of Brimstone on ships , attack helicopters , UAVs and from surface launchers ; it will be integrated on the F - 35 Lightning II when the F - 35 enters British service . The US , France and India have expressed interest in buying Brimstone for their aircraft but Saudi Arabia is the only export customer to date . Design . Overview . The missile was originally supposed to be an evolution of the original laser Hellfire , with the laser seeker replaced by a millimetre wave ( mmW ) seeker . During development , virtually the entire missile was redesigned , resulting in a weapon that - other than the external shape - bears no relation to the original airframe . It is unrelated to the separate development of the mmW Hellfire for the Longbow Apache . The missile airframe is developed from Lockheed ' s AGM - 114 Hellfire , but Brimstone is an all - new design with its own motor , warhead and seeker . Brimstone has a Tandem Shaped Charge ( TSC ) warhead that employs a smaller initial charge , designed to initiate reactive armor , followed by a larger , more destructive charge , designed to penetrate and defeat the base armour . It has been estimated that Brimstone will be 3 times more effective than the AGM - 65G Maverick missile against modern tanks , and 7 times more effective than the BL755 cluster bomb . In combat Brimstone has demonstrated accuracy and reliability " both well above 90 percent " according to the MoD ; Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Dalton has said that 98 . 3 % to 98 . 7 % of Brimstone fired in Libya " did exactly what we expected " . Targeting and sensors . Brimstone is a " fire and forget " missile , which is loaded with targeting data by the Weapon Systems Officer ( WSO ) prior to launch . Technically , it is programmable to adapt to particular mission requirements . This capability includes essentially the ability to find targets within a certain area ( such as those near friendly forces ) , and to self - destruct if it is unable to find a target within the designated area . This information is provided to the munition by the WSO from RAF ASTOR , USAF JSTARS aircraft or local troops . In addition to the semi - autonomous ability to decide its own targets , the Brimstone has the capacity to determine where on a target to best impact causing the most damage or resulting in elimination of the target . The missile ' s advanced sensor package includes its extremely high frequency millimetric wave radar , which allows the weapon to image the target and hence choose a target location . The bandwidth of the MMW radar also makes it less susceptible to inclement weather . With as many as twenty - four missiles in the air , the missile ' s targeting system also required an algorithm to ensure that missiles hit their targets in a staggered order , rather than all simultaneously . Launch system . Each launch system incorporates three rails , i . e . one system carries three missiles . This allows a single aircraft to carry large numbers of missiles , for example a Typhoon could carry up to six launch systems on six individual pylons , which gives a maximum payload of eighteen Brimstone missiles , in addition to a useful air - to - air payload . The missile is carried by the Tornado GR4 in RAF service . , integration on the Eurofighter Typhoon is planned but not yet funded ; the " Daily Telegraph " reported that Brimstone on Typhoon would be funded in PR12 ( the 2012 - 13 budget ) but this has not yet been confirmed . MBDA are studying the use of Brimstone on attack helicopters , UAVs and from surface launchers ; it will be integrated with the F - 35 Lightning II when it enters British service . Both the US and France have expressed interest in buying it for their aircraft . It was intended that Brimstone would be integrated on the RAF Harrier fleet under Capability D of the JUMP programme with a scheduled in - service date of 2009 . A Harrier GR9 first flew with 12 Brimstone on 14 February 2007 , and the RAF released video of a Tornado ( incorrectly reported as a Harrier ) using a Dual Mode Brimstone against an Afghan insurgent in 2008 . In late 2009 Brimstone was " nearing completion for integration on the Harrier " but in July 2010 it was reported that Brimstone on the Harrier would be postponed until the insensitive - munition version of the missile became available in 2012 . Brimstone had not been officially cleared for use on the type when the UK Harriers were withdrawn from service in late 2010 . Development . The missile was designed to meet the RAF ' s requirement for a long range anti - armour weapon , allowing strike aircraft to attack tanks and armoured vehicles at stand - off range , replacing the BL755 cluster bomb . This requirement was issued following an assessment of the British military ' s performance in the Gulf War . GEC - Marconi ( whose missile interests now form part of MBDA ) was originally awarded the contract on 7 November 1996 . The programme ended up nearly 3 years late . The first ground firing of the Brimstone missile occurred in August 1999 , followed by the first air - launched firing Tornado GR4 in September 2000 . Clearance of the missile was delayed by 12 months due to the unavailability of a Tornado trials aircraft , as the RAF chose instead to rush the development of the Storm Shadow ahead of the Iraq war , but another delay of 6 months was due to the missile hitting the aircraft as it was released . Over 2000 missiles were produced . The original Brimstone could not be used in Afghanistan as the Rules of engagement required a " man - in - the - loop " . Under an Urgent Operational Requirement in 2008 , modifications were made to the seeker and software of over 300 existing missiles to create Dual - Mode Brimstone . The new missiles can be laser guided according to the STANAG 3733 standard as well as retaining the millimetre wave seeker ; the pilot can select either mode from the cockpit or use both simultaneously . Laser guidance allows specific enemy targets to be picked out in cluttered environments , the mmW radar ensures accuracy against moving targets . The development and procurement of the original single - mode missiles cost £370m , a figure inflated by accounting charges relating to the delays . The development of the dual - mode version cost an additional £10m . The " Daily Telegraph " reports that the dual mode missiles cost £105 , 000 ( ~ US $ 170 , 000 ) , which is comparable to the cost of the AGM - 65 Maverick ; the MoD quote only a gross book value of £175 , 000 , which includes development costs as well as the purchase cost of the missile . Upgrading a single - mode missile to dual mode costs between £35 , 000 and £45 , 000 plus VAT , depending on quantities ordered . In March 2010 Brimstone was selected as the basis for the RAF ' s requirement under the Selective Precision Effects At Range ( SPEAR ) Capability 2 Block 1 programme . The Demonstration and Manufacture ( D & M ) contract will increase the missile ' s performance " significantly " , and convert the warhead and rocket motor to use insensitive munitions . Brimstone 2 will have an improved seeker , a more modular design and improvements to airframe and software for " an overall increase in performance with improvements in range and engagement footprint " . It is expected to enter service in late 2013 . At the same time MBDA were awarded an Assessment Phase contract for SPEAR Capability 3 ( formerly SPEAR Drop 2 ) . This requires a range missile with a warhead to be integrated onto the F - 35 Lightning II . Spear 3 may use some modules from Brimstone , and will have flight trials by 2014 . MBDA have started testing a maritime variant called Brimstone Sea Spear for use against swarms of small boats . On 25 June 2012 a Tornado GR4 dropped a prototype that hit and sank a 6 - metre inflatable boat travelling at 20kts in Sea State 3 . The following month MBDA said that a viable system could be offered " within months " ; the initial focus is on deployment from fast jets and surface launchers , MBDA are marketing it in the Gulf for installation on vessels down to 15m . On 29 May 2013 , MBDA conducted a salvo firing of three millimetric wave operational Brimstone missiles , launched from a fixed offshore platform , against a simulated attack formation of five targets representing FIACs ( Fast Inshore attack Craft ) . The successful test firing demonstrated Brimstone Sea Spear ’ s ability to strike numerous individual targets . During the test one of the targets , a 15m craft , was travelling at 20 knots . The Sea Spear may compete with the Raytheon Sea Griffin missile for integration onto American Littoral Combat Ship s . Operational use . Royal Air Force . In March 2005 , Brimstone entered service with No . 31 Squadron RAF . Full Operational Capability ( FOC ) was declared for the Tornado GR4 in December 2005 The first operational sortie of dual - mode Brimstone was over Iraq as part of Operation TELIC on 18 December 2008 by a Tornado GR4 of IX ( B ) Squadron . It was first fired in combat in June 2009 , the month that the Tornado GR4 ' s of 12 Squadron arrived in Afghanistan as part of Operation HERRICK . Brimstone was used extensively during Operation ELLAMY over Libya in 2011 . According to a British Ministry of Defence News report , dated 26 March 2011 , RAF Tornado GR4 aircraft launched several Brimstone missiles over the towns of Misrata and Ajdabiya destroying a total of five armoured vehicles belonging to the Gaddafi regime . Sixty Brimstone were fired in the first four weeks of the Libya campaign , out of 110 Brimstone fired in all operations up to that time . This prompted the MoD to ask MBDA to convert more missiles to the dual - mode version . 150 dual - mode missiles had been ordered in December 2010 , but according to the Royal United Services Institute , stocks of usable dual - mode missiles fell to single figures at one stage of the Libya campaign . The 500th dual - mode Brimstone was delivered in March 2012 , at which time over 200 had been fired in combat . The single - mode missile was not fired in combat until 15 September 2011 when a pair of RAF Tornado GR4 of IX ( B ) Squadron fired 22 missiles ( including a salvo of 12 by one aircraft ) against an armoured column near Sebha / Sabha , 400 miles south of Tripoli . Export sales . Around £10 million of Brimstones from the RAF stock were sold to the Royal Saudi Air Force for use on their Tornados . In April 2011 , the RAF ' s Assistant Chief of the Air Staff Air Vice Marshal Baz North reported that the missiles were " being sought by both the United States of America and the French " in the light of Brimstone ' s success in Libya . France ' s DGA procurement agency held meetings in late May 2011 to discuss a lightweight air - to - surface weapon for the Dassault Rafale ; Stéphane Reb of the DGA would merely say that " Brimstone is a solution , but it ' s not the only option " . The French Air Force were still thinking about a purchase in March 2012 , with a prime consideration being lower collateral damage compared to the AASM . India has made a request for information about integrating Brimstone on their Sukhoi Su - 30MKI fleet .