Can A Tank Survive A Hellfire Missile?

When it comes to fighting heavily armored vehicles, particularly tanks, rocket-propelled artillery has always been the way to go. As far back as World War II, rockets and missiles have been the weapons of choice for punching through the armor of heavy infantry vehicles. As it happens, one of the most potent tank-busting weapons ever created for the United States Military arose back in the 1970s, in the midst of the Cold War.

Out of fears of potential tank battles during the Cold War, the U.S. Military developed the very first Hellfire –short for HELiborne, Laser, FIRE and Forget — missile, the descendants of which have become the gold standard for tank destruction. As far as the U.S. Military is concerned, there is not a single tank owned by any military on Earth that can survive a direct hit from a Hellfire missile.

The current iteration of the Hellfire, the AGM-114 Hellfire II, is most commonly used by the United States, though missiles have also been sold to the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, South Korea, and most recently, Ukraine. In 2020, the missile's manufacturer, Lockheed Martin, estimated around 100,000 Hellfires are owned by militaries around the world. No matter who uses it or where, the Hellfire is almost definitely being used to destroy either armored infantry vehicles or heavily fortified locations like bunkers.

The AGM-114 Hellfire II is a solid propellant rocket that flies at subsonic speeds, utilizing a multi-purpose warhead to deal with different target types. It can be fired from just about anywhere, including ground platforms, sea vessels, or from dangerous military aircraft like the Apache helicopter. By switching out the warhead, the Hellfire can target bunkers, fortified buildings, emplacements, and vehicles. In addition to its warhead, the Hellfire is equipped with a multitude of guidance and targeting systems that allow it to be used in just about any condition.

It can be fired and controlled from an operator's cockpit or fired-and-forgotten, aiming for enemy targets with auto-targeting tech. The radar system built into the Hellfire is specifically designed to be resistant to interference, which means neither poor weather conditions nor direct radar scrambling can stop it. An offshoot of the Hellfire, the AGM-114L Longbow Hellfire, is specifically designed for tank-busting purposes, boasting the same guidance equipment with the addition of an armor-piercing warhead, guaranteed to punch through thick armor plating and deliver its payload with maximum efficiency.

What all this amounts to is a missile that is, in a word, unstoppable, at least as far as tank-busting goes. With a warhead and payload that can easily crush a tank and multiple layers of direct and indirect targeting controls, there is little a tank squad could do to stop the Hellfire's encroachment. Military.com puts it best: "The Hellfire missile is capable of defeating any known tank in the world today."