Harpoon Missile

Last updated: 28 Sep 2021

Point of Contact
Program Executive Office
Program Executive Office for Unmanned Aviation and Strike Weapons [PEO (U&W)]

Naval Air Station
Patuxent River, Maryland 20670-1547

(240) 925-5305

Description
The A/U/RGM-84 Harpoon is an all-weather, over-the-horizon, anti-ship missile system that provides the Navy with a common missile for air and ship launches.

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).

WATERS NEAR GUAM (Mar. 10, 2016) - Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62) conducts a live fire of a harpoon missile during Multi Sail 2016. Multi-Sail is a bilateral training exercise aimed at interoperability between the U.S. and Japanese forces. This exercise builds interoperability and benefits from realistic, shared training, enhancing our ability to work together to confront any contingency. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Eric Coffer/Released)

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. The Harpoon Block II+ provides a rapid-capability enhancement for the Navy that includes a new GPS guidance kit, reliability and survivability of the weapon, a new data link interface that enables in-flight updates, improved target selectivity, an abort option and enhanced resistance to electronic countermeasures.

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 first 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. In 1998, an advanced upgrade to Harpoon missile, Block II, was developed.

Service
Navy and Air Force, and foreign nations

General Characteristics

Primary Function:Air, ship and foreign submarine and land-based coastal defense battery launched anti-ship cruise missile

Contractor: The Boeing Company

Date Deployed: 1977

Propulsion: Teledyne Turbojet/solid propellant booster for surface and submarine launch

Length: Air launched: 12 feet, 7 inches (3.8 meters); surface and submarine launched: 15 feet (4.6 meters)

Diameter: 13.5 inches (34.3 cm)

Wingspan: 3 feet (91.4 cm) with booster fins and wings

Weight: 1,523 pounds (690.8 kg) with booster

Guidance System: Sea-skimming cruise monitored by radar altimeter/ active radar terminal homing

Point of Contact
Program Executive Office
Program Executive Office for Unmanned Aviation and Strike Weapons [PEO (U&W)]

Naval Air Station
Patuxent River, Maryland 20670-1547

(240) 925-5305

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