Barbecue in a can – the new Hellfire

Rumsfeld: U.S. Used New Missile in Iraq
2 hours, 52 minutes ago
By MATT KELLEY, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON – U.S. tactics in the war with Iraq — including use of a new kind of missile that kills people without destroying buildings — demonstrate why the military must evolve into a lighter, faster force, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Wednesday.
American troops in Iraq made first use of a new kind of helicopter-launched Hellfire missile, Rumsfeld said. The AGM-114N Metal Augmented Charge Hellfire uses a thermobaric warhead, which creates a blast wave that kills people while leaving a building, bunker or cave intact.
Rumsfeld said the new missile “can take out the first floor of a building without damaging the floors above, and is capable of reaching around corners, striking enemy forces that hide in caves or bunkers and hardened multiroom complexes.”
Marine Corps AH-1 Cobra helicopters used the missile in Iraq. The Pentagon (news – web sites) spent $14.8 million developing the new warhead after Marine Corps officials asked for a weapon that would be more effective against enemies in confined spaces such as bunkers or the interior rooms of a large building.
Putting a thermobaric warhead on a Hellfire costs $35,000 above the $57,000 cost for each basic missile.
American forces used another new kind of thermobaric bomb for the first time during the war in Afghanistan to clear out caves where Taliban and al-Qaida members were hiding. The new Hellfire missile uses a different warhead composition to create a similar blast wave effect.
The high-tech Hellfire is an example of the kind of weaponry the Pentagon wants more money to develop, Rumsfeld told a Senate Appropriations subcommittee. He was testifying to support President Bush (news – web sites)’s $380 billion defense budget request for 2004.