The Ukrainian Armed Forces are using the U.S.-made V2X Tempest, a high-mobility vehicle with a launcher for AGM-114 Hellfire missiles that is optimized for the counter-uncrewed aerial systems (C-UAS) role. Mounting Hellfires on a high-mobility vehicle provides a new means of employing these weapons unpredictably, not only against drone threats, but potentially also other aerial targets, too.
The Tempest was showcased in a video put out recently by Ukraine’s Air Force Command Center, suggesting that the flying branch is the likely operator. However, the new weapon was neither announced nor identified. The footage shows a pair of Hellfire missiles being launched, purportedly against Russian drones, with tracer rounds also seen climbing into the night sky.
Interestingly, a blurred version of the same video had been published last October, but it wasn’t possible to identify the system involved.
In the last few days, more still imagery has appeared, providing a much better look at the Ukrainian-operated Tempest. These photos reportedly show the combat vehicle while undergoing crew training.
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