The AGM-84 arpoon is an all-weather, over-the-horizon, anti-ship missile system, developed and manufactured by McDonnell Douglas. 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:
- Fixed-wing aircraft (the AGM-84, without the solid-fuel rocket booster)
- Surface ships (the RGM-84, fitted with a solid-fuel rocket booster that detaches when expended, to allow the missile's main turbojet to maintain flight)
- Submarines (the UGM-84, fitted with a solid-fuel rocket booster and encapsulated in a container to enable submerged launch through a torpedo tube);
- Coastal defense batteries, from which it would be fired with a solid-fuel rocket booster.
The missile is comparable to the French-made Exocet missile, the Swedish RBS-15 missile, the Russian SS-N-25 Switchblade, the British Sea Eagle missile, and the Chinese Yingji.
| Harpoon | |
|---|---|
| Type | Anti-ship missile |
| Place of origin | United States |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1977–present |
| Production history | |
| Manufacturer | McDonnell Douglas Boeing Defense, Space & Security |
| Unit cost | US$1,200,000 for Harpoon Block II |
| 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 | 1.1 ft (0.34 m) |
| | |
| Warhead | 488 pounds (221 kg) |
| | |
| Engine | Teledyne 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:
|
General characteristics of AGM-84 Harpoon
- Primary function: Air-, surface-, or submarine-launched anti-surface (anti-ship) missile
- Contractor: The McDonnell Douglas Astronautic Company - East
- Power plant: Teledyne Teledyne J402 turbojet, 660 lb (300 kg)-force (2.9 kN) thrust, and a solid-propellant booster for surface and submarine launches
- Length:
- Air launched: 3.8 metres (12 ft) 7 in)
- Surface and submarine launched: 4.6 metres (15 ft)
- Weight:
- Air launched: 519 kilograms (1,140 lb)
- Submarine or ship launched from box or canister launcher: 628 kilograms (1,380 lb)
- Diameter: 340 millimetres (13 in)
- Wing span: 914 millimetres (36.0 in)
- Maximum altitude: 910 metres (2,990 ft) with booster fins and wings
- Range: Over-the-horizon (approx 50 nautical miles)
- AGM-84D (Block 1C): 220 km (120 nmi)
- RGM/UGM-84D (Block 1C): 140 km (75 nmi)
- AGM-84E (Block 1E) : 93 km (50 nmi)
- AGM-84F (Block 1D): : 315 km (170 nmi)
- RGM-84F (Block 1D): 278 km (150 nmi).
- RGM/AGM-84L (Block 2): 278 km (150 nmi)
- AGM-84H/K (Block 1G / Block 1J): 280 km (150 nmi)
- Speed: High subsonic, around 850 km/h (460 knots, 240 m/s, or 530 mph)
- Guidance: Sea-skimming cruise monitored by radar altimeter, active radar terminal homing
- Warhead: 221 kilograms (490 lb), penetration high-explosive blast
- Unit cost: US$1,200,000
- Date deployed:
- Ship launched (RGM-84A): 1977
- Air launched (AGM-84A): 1979
- Submarine launched (UGM-84A): 1981
- SLAM (AGM-84E): 1990
- SLAM-ER (AGM-84H): 1998 (delivery); 2000 (initial operational capability (IOC))
- SLAM-ER ATA (AGM-84K): 2002 (IOC)
