Harpoon | |
---|---|
Type | Anti-ship missile |
Place of origin | United States of America |
Service history | |
In service | 1977–present |
Used by | See operators |
Production history | |
Manufacturer |
McDonnell Douglas Boeing Defense, Space & Security |
Unit cost | US$1,200,000 for Harpoon Block II (2011) |
Number built | 7,500 |
Specifications | |
Weight | 1,523 lb (691 kg) with booster |
Length | Air-launched: 12.6 ft (3.8 m); Surface- and submarine-launched: 15 ft (4.6 m) |
Diameter | 13.5 in (34 cm) |
Warhead | 488 pounds (221 kg) |
Detonation
mechanism |
Contact |
|
|
Engine | Teledyne CAE J402 Turbojet/solid propellant booster for surface and submarine launch; greater than 600 pounds (greater than 272.2 kg) of thrust |
Wingspan | 3 ft (0.91 m) |
Operational
range |
in excess of 67 nmi (124 km) depending on launch platform |
Flight altitude | Sea-skimming |
Speed | 537 miles per hour (864 km/h)(240 m/s) |
Guidance
system |
Sea-skimming cruise monitored by radar altimeter / active radar terminal homing |
Launch
platform |
multi-platform:
|
multi-platform:
The Harpoon is an all-weather, over-the-horizon, anti-ship missile system, developed and manufactured by McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing Defense, Space & Security). In 2004, Boeing delivered the 7,000th Harpoon unit since the weapon's introduction in 1977. The missile system has also been further developed into a land-strike weapon, the Standoff Land Attack Missile (SLAM).
The regular Harpoon uses active radar homing, and a low-level, sea-skimming cruise trajectory to improve survivability and lethality. The missile's launch platforms include:
In 1965 the United States Navy began studies for a missile in the 45 kilometres (24 nmi) range class for use against surfaced submarines. The name Harpoon was assigned to the project (i.e. a harpoon to kill "whales", a naval slang term for submarines). The sinking of the Israeli destroyer Eilat in 1967 by a Soviet-built Styx anti-ship missile shocked senior United States Navy officers, who until then had not been conscious of the threat posed by anti-ship missiles. In 1970 Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Elmo Zumwalt accelerated the development of Harpoon as part of his "Project Sixty" initiative, hoping to add much needed striking power to US surface combatants. Harpoon was primarily developed for use on US Navy warships such as the Ticonderoga-class cruiser as their principal anti-ship weapon system.
The Harpoon has also been adapted for carriage on several aircraft, such as the P-3 Orion, the A-6 Intruder, the S-3 Viking, the AV-8B Harrier II, and the F/A-18 Hornet and U.S. Air Force B-52H bombers. The Harpoon was purchased by many American allies, including Pakistan, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, the United Arab Emirates and most NATO countries.