The missile was launched in the lock-on-before-launch mode by a Eurocopter test pilot, targeting a simulated armored-personnel-carrier target, six kilometers down range. The missile struck dead center, leaving a gaping hole in the target.

This, the first of six firings, paves the way for the ARH to carry the Hellfire II family of missiles and it provides an opportunity for European versions of the Tiger, now being flown in France, Spain and Germany, to use the Hellfire missile and realize the benefit the weapon system provides.

"The new Tiger is the most advanced helicopter of its type in the world and will be a huge boost to our Army’s capability," said Australian Defence Minister Robert Hill. "We never have had a helicopter with this sort of capability—a 30 mm cannon, rockets and Hellfire missiles."

The Australian Army performed the successful firing with an inert warhead from an ARH at the Woomera test range in Australia’s southern desert. The Hellfire II missile is produced at Lockheed Martin's advanced-technology manufacturing plants in Ocala, FL and Troy, AL.

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