Harpoon (missile)

Harpoon
A Harpoon missile on static display at the USS Bowfin museum at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
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)
No. 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	Impact fuze
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: RGM-84A surface-launched AGM-84A air-launched UGM-84A submarine-launched

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.