The short-range air defense system Tempest, of U.S. manufacture, has officially joined the arsenal of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Images released by the Ukrainian Air Command and by volunteers on specialized forums confirm the platform’s operational use, which has already been employed to intercept nighttime aerial attacks against enemy drones.
Mounted on a chassis similar to the Can-Am Maverick X3 buggy, Tempest was designed for operations requiring high mobility and a low visual profile. The vehicle carries two AGM-114 Hellfire missiles, likely the AGM-114L Hellfire Longbow variant, equipped with a radar seeker. This configuration allows the system to engage drones, helicopters, and low-altitude aircraft in different weather conditions.
A radar installed on the vehicle’s structure is responsible for target detection and tracking, as well as missile guidance, since no optical or laser guidance systems have been demonstrated. According to manufacturer V2X, the radar’s modular architecture enables the platform to operate in both mobile and stationary modes, maintaining accuracy and situational awareness. There is also a trailer-mounted version of Tempest, intended for the defense of bases and airfields.
Although it carries only two missiles per launcher, the Hellfire features a warhead of about 9 kg, considered sufficient to destroy attack drones in the air with a lower risk of collateral damage on the ground.
The adoption of Tempest reinforces the trend of employing missiles originally designed for anti-armor roles in air defense functions against slow targets, a concept previously used in mobile systems such as M-SHORAD.
Source: Militarnyi | Photo: X @bayraktar_1love | This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team
Tempest air defense system with AGM-114 Hellfire missiles in service with the Ukrainian Air Force https://t.co/3Z36rJ7Yea pic.twitter.com/2CQxxRlLgE
— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) January 11, 2026
