The US State Department has authorized a potential $79-million foreign military sale to Belgium involving AGM-114R2 Hellfire missiles and associated services.
Belgium has asked for up to 240 Hellfire units, along with engineering and technical assistance, training, spare parts, ammunition, communications gear, maintenance, and broader logistics support.
Washington stated that the deal would enhance Belgium’s counterterrorism capabilities. The country already fields advanced air-to-ground munitions on its F-35 and F-16 fleets, ensuring a seamless integration of the new missiles.
Lockheed Martin’s facility in Troy, Alabama, is designated as the primary contractor, with any offset arrangements to be negotiated directly with Belgium.
The Hellfire features a semi-active laser seeker, a multipurpose warhead, and programmable flight modes to adapt to different mission requirements. Its seeker can also re-acquire targets if tracking is interrupted, such as when passing through clouds.
Depending on operational needs, the missile can lock onto targets either pre-launch or post-launch, improving survivability for the launching aircraft.
In 2024, the US awarded Lockheed Martin a $483-million contract for additional AGM-114R2 Hellfire and Joint Air-to-Ground Missiles—its third follow-on order since 2023, raising the program’s total value to roughly $4.5 billion. The batch includes deliveries for the US Army and allied buyers such as the Czech Republic, France, and Poland through foreign military sales.
