No Longer a Secret: Volunteer Shows Photo of Tempest Air Defense System During Delivery and Setup

New high-quality photos of the Tempest short-range air defense “buggy” in service with the Ukrainian Air Force have appeared.

The images were published on the War Online thematic forum by a user with the nickname FOX16, who was raising funds for the system’s re-equipment.

The new photos show the Tempest in field conditions, armed with AGM-114 Hellfire missiles. The combat vehicle was undergoing adjustment by its crews.

The system was first presented publicly in a New Year’s video released by the Air Command Center, where it was used to destroy enemy drones.

Little is currently known about the system itself. It was first presented by the U.S. company V2X at the AUSA 2025 defense exhibition, held in October 2025 in Washington.

However, the system’s exact technical specifications were not disclosed, and its transfer to Ukraine was not officially announced.

The Tempest air defense system is designed to counter enemy drones, helicopters, and low-flying aircraft in all weather conditions.

The combat vehicle is built on a chassis similar to the commercial Can-Am Maverick X3 buggy and is intended for operations where high mobility and low visibility are critical.

To intercept targets, the system carries two AGM-114 Hellfire missiles. During the presentation, the developer did not specify the missile variant, but it is presumed to be the AGM-114L Hellfire Longbow, equipped with a radar seeker.

A radar unit is mounted on the buggy frame and likely provides target detection and missile guidance. Optical sights and laser guidance systems were not demonstrated at the exhibition, suggesting the radar serves as the primary means of target search and tracking, which further supports the use of AGM-114L missiles.

The company mentioned that the radar’s modular architecture allows the platform to quickly switch between mobile and stationary configurations without losing situational awareness or tracking accuracy.

In addition to the mobile version, V2X also offers a trailer-mounted Tempest configuration for static or semi-fixed tasks, including base and airfield perimeter defense.

Despite the limited ammunition load, only two missiles per launcher, the Hellfire is equipped with a powerful warhead weighing about 9 kg.

This is sufficient to reliably destroy strike drones in the air while minimizing collateral damage on the ground from falling debris.