The U.S. State Department has approved a possible 203 million sale of AGM-114R2 Hellfire missiles to the French government, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency announced Friday.
According to the DSCA, Parish asked to buy 1,515 AGM-114R2 Hellfire missiles and related equipment.
The prime contractor in the the program will be Lockheed Martin Corporation, Orlando, FL, the DSCA said.
“The proposed sale will improve France’s capability to meet current and future threats by building its long-term defense capacity to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity in order to meet its national defense requirements. France will have no difficulty absorbing this equipment into its armed forces,” the DSCA’s announcement said.
The Hellfire missiles are used to target armored vehicles, including tanks, bunkers, radar systems and antennas, communications equipment, soft targets, or hovering helicopters. It is one of the world’s most popular short-range, precision strikes, Semi-Active Laser (SAL)-guided missiles.