Ukraine develops launcher vehicle able to fire Brimstone missile capable to destroy Russian tanks
According to a video published to the Russian social network "VK" on May 12, 2022, Ukrainian armed forces have developed a mobile container launcher station mounted on a truck 4x4 chassis able to fire the surface-to-surface version of the MBDA Brimstone missile that will be capable to destroy Russian tanks and armored vehicles.
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Ukraine has developed a mobile launcher vehicle able to fire the land version of the MBDA Brimstone missile. (Picture source: Russian Social Media VK)
On May 7, 2022, Army Recognition reported that the United Kingdom confirmed the delivery to Ukraine of Brimstone anti-ship missiles as well as a new version that could be used from the ground. In early May 2022, pictures were published on Social Media showing components of the Brimstone missile, but there was no information about the type of launcher used to fire the Brimstone missile. The use of the Brimstone missile by the Ukrainian armed forces in the Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv regions was reported in early May.
According to the Army Recognition editorial team analysis, the Ukrainian soldiers have mounted a container launcher station on a standard 4x4 civilian truck able of carrying, storing, and firing a number of Brimstone missiles.
In the beginning, the Brimstone was developed by MBDA UK to be used as a ground or air-launched ground attack missile. It was originally designed to destroy armor targets from air platforms like fighter aircraft. Using the Brimstone air-to-surface missile, MBDA also developed an anti-ship version called Brimstone Sea Spear which is an air- and surface-launched anti-ship missile designed to strike fast-moving, swarming inshore attack ships.
The development of the surface-to-surface version of the Brimstone missile by the company MBDA was reported by the Army Recognition editorial team in September 2019. A concept of a tank destroyer mobile combat vehicle based on a Polish-made tracked armored BWP-1 IFV (Infantry Fighting Vehicle) was presented by MBDA during the International Defense Exhibition MSPO that was held in the city of Kielce, Poland.
The anti-tank vehicle presented at MSPO 2019 was equipped with a launcher weapon station armed with 12 air-launched ground attack missiles "Brimstone" developed by MBDA for Britain's Royal Air Force. It was originally intended for "fire-and-forget" use against mass formations of enemy armor, using a millimetric wave (mmW) active radar homing seeker to ensure accuracy even against moving targets. The land version of the Brimstone missile is able to destroy a target at a range of up to 12 km.