The United States Navy

Harpoon missile

Services: Navy and Air Force, and 27 foreign nations.

Description: The A/U/RGM-84 Harpoon is an all- weather, over-the-horizon, anti-ship missile system.

Features: The Harpoon’s active radar guidance, warhead design, low-level cruise trajectory, and terminal mode sea-skim or pop-up maneuvers assure high survivability and effectiveness. The missile is capable of being launched from surface ships, submarines, shore batteries, or aircraft (without the booster).

Background: Originally developed for the Navy to serve as its basic anti-ship missile for fleet-wide use. The A/R/UGM-84 was first introduced in 1977, and in 1979 the air-launched version was deployed on the Navy's P-3C Orion aircraft. The Harpoon was also adapted for use on USAF B-52H bombers, which can carry from 8 to 12 of the missiles. The Harpoon missile has been integrated on foreign F-16 aircraft and is presently being integrated on foreign F-15 aircraft. Under a 1998 agreement between Boeing and the Navy, an advanced upgrade to Harpoon missile was developed. This Harpoon Block II missile incorporated Global Positioning System-assisted inertial navigation, which enables the system to have both an anti-ship and a land attack capability.

Points of Contact:

Program Executive Office, Strike Weapons and Unmanned Aviation [PEO (W)]
Public Affairs Department
47123 Buse Road, Unit IPT
Bldg. 2272, Suite 245
Patuxent River, MD 20670-5440
(301) 757-5289

General Characteristics
Primary Function: Air, ship, and foreign submarine and land-based coastal defense battery launched anti-ship cruise missile.
Contractor: The Boeing Company
Power Plant: Teledyne Turbojet / solid propellant booster for surface and submarine launch.
Thrust: Greater than 600 pounds (greater than 272.2 kg)
Length:
Air launched: 12 feet, 7 inches (3.8 meters)
Surface and submarine launched: 15 feet (4.6 meters)
Weight: 1,523 pounds (690.8 kg) with booster.
Diameter: 13.5 inches (34.3 cm)
Wing Span: 3 feet (91.4 cm) with booster fins and wings.
Range: Over-the-horizon, in excess of 67 nautical miles (124 km).
Speed: High Subsonic
Guidance: Sea-skimming cruise monitored by radar altimeter / active radar terminal homing.
Warhead: Penetration / high-explosive blast (488 pounds/224 kg)
Unit Cost: $1,200,000 for Harpoon Block II
Date Deployed: 1977