The Ukrainian Armed Forces use the US-made V2X Tempest, a high-mobility vehicle with an AGM-114 Hellfire missile launcher that is optimized for the unmanned aerial systems (C-UAS) role. Mounting Hellfires on a high-mobility vehicle offers a new way to use these weapons unpredictably, not only against drone threats, but potentially other aerial targets as well.
The Tempest was featured in a video recently released by the Ukrainian 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 fired, allegedly against Russian drones, with tracer rounds also seen soaring into the night sky.
The video is posted below, but if you can’t see it, here’s the link to the reel on Facebook.
Interestingly, a blurry version of the same video had been published last October, but it was not possible to identify the system involved.
In recent days, several still images have emerged, providing a much better look at the Ukrainian-operated Tempest. These photos show the combat vehicle as it was undergoing crew training.
According to Defense Express, the Armed Forces of Ukraine received prototypes of the new US-made Tempest air defense system for testing. Developed by V2X and unveiled in 2025, the Tempest includes mobile and trailer-mounted variants tailored to counter drone threats. pic.twitter.com/nReBbm7ANh
This confirms the identity of the system, which Virginia-based V2X debuted at the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) show last October. Tempest’s transfer to Ukraine had not been publicly announced.
The Tempest combines a twin Longbow launcher with a radar housed in a highly mobile, modular and lightweight 4×4 chassis – apparently a Can-Am Maverick X3 side-by-side vehicle (SSV). According to V2X, the system is suitable for targeting short- and medium-range drones in all weather conditions. The radar appears to be an existing type of counter-drone that operates in millimeter wave for active detection and to initially signal the missile. This radar would be ideal for detecting relatively small and relatively slow targets, but only has a very limited range – similar to that of the Hellfire.
A commercial standard Can-Am Maverick X3 side-by-side vehicle (SSV). Can I
There is no evidence of electro-optical and infrared cameras to supplement the radar, but there are antennas visible on the rear left side of the vehicle. These are almost certainly a passive radio frequency (RF) detection system. This is an independent way to locate some drones that emit their own radio emissions. The buggy can do this without emitting its own radio frequency energy, which helps it avoid being targeted as well. Passive detection would help mitigate the unique radar array, which means the vehicle must be pointed in the direction of the target to acquire it and fire its missiles. Typically, such radars are arranged in a group of four, pointing in each direction for 360-degree coverage. Instead, the passive detection system can be used to initially detect the threat, before the vehicle (and its radar) is aimed at it for acquisition and firing. Many drones do not emit RF emissions, especially those that fly on autopilot or use fiber optic cable control links. In those cases, it should pass through the radar’s field of view.
A promotional photo of the Hellfire-armed V2X Tempest. V2X
Fundamental to the design is its ability to use “shoot and scoot” tactics, moving quickly to a new position after firing, making it less vulnerable to enemy detection and counterfire.
Because it makes extensive use of commercially available components, the Tempest is also said to be cheaper and faster to produce than more traditional vehicles of its type.
In addition to its primary C-UAS role, the Tempest can also engage helicopters, some types of cruise missiles and fixed-wing aircraft, although against the latter set of targets in particular it is limited by the relatively short range of its Hellfire missiles.
V2X also offers a stationary, trailer-mounted variant of the Tempest for the static defense of high-value targets such as warehouses and airfields. It is not known if any of these were delivered to Ukraine.
As for the missile armament, it is understood to comprise the AGM-114L Hellfire Longbow version. Hellfire missiles, most of which are laser-guided munitions, are best known as air-to-ground weapons, but the millimeter-wave radar-guided AGM-114L variant has emerged as a useful anti-drone tool in recent years. The AGM-114L has a range of about five miles and carries a warhead of about 20 pounds. This is enough destructive power to deal with many types of drones while reducing the risk of collateral damage on the ground. Although these missiles are now out of production, they were probably substantially more expensive than the laser-guided versions. As of 2020, Hellfire had an average cost, over all optionsover $200,000.
An official US Army infographic detailing various Hellfire variants, including their weights. US Army
The AGM-114L is the same missile that the US military’s AH-64 Apache attack helicopters use for C-UAS, with specific modifications made to them for this role. In this application, the missile is initially signaled by the Apache’s mast-mounted AN/APG-78 Longbow radar system. AGM-114Ls are also primary weapons for other ground-based counter-drone systems, including the military’s M-SHORAD.
It is worth noting that a very different version of Hellfire has already been launched by Ukraine.
This is the Swedish RBS 17 coastal defense missile system, which uses a derivative of the semi-active laser-guided AGM-114C Hellfire anti-tank missile and was sent to Ukraine by Sweden in an aid package announced in the summer of 2022. Later, other examples were supplied to Ukraine from Norwegian stockpiles.
Although designed primarily for the near-shore defense role—defending against amphibious landings and shallow water threats—Ukrainian forces appear to have used the RBS 17 primarily against land targets. The missiles used in the RBS 17 system would not be suitable for use from the Tempest, either for C-UAS use or against other targets, due to their guidance and the apparent lack of additional targeting systems on the vehicle.
Overall, Ukraine’s new C-UAS system may still be in the evaluation phase, or at least only in small quantities, but video evidence suggests that it may already be enjoying some success. At the very least, this is probably the most mobile ground-based C-UAS kinetic shooter we’ve seen.
Regardless of its status and the number of systems being delivered, the Tempest is clearly of interest to Ukraine, especially as the winter months mean Russia is increasing the pace of its regular drone barrages against cities and infrastructure.
