Harpoon (missile)

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A/R/UGM-84 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
Service history
In service	1977–present
Used by	See operators
Wars	Iran–Iraq War Russo-Ukrainian War
Production history
Manufacturer	McDonnell Douglas Boeing Defense, Space & Security
Unit cost	US$1,406,812 for Harpoon Block II (2020)[1]
No. built	7,500[2]
Specifications
Mass	1,523 lb (691 kg) including booster
Length	12.6 ft (3.8 m), air-launched; 15 ft (4.6 m), surface- and submarine-launched
Diameter	13.5 in (34 cm)
Wingspan	3 ft (0.91 m)
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 lbf (2,700 N) of thrust
Operational range	75 nmi (139 km), ship-launched Harpoon Block I & Block IC;[citation needed] Greater than 67 nmi (124 km), ship-launched Harpoon Block II;[3] 120 nmi (220 km), air-launched Block IC
Flight altitude	Sea-skimming
Maximum speed	537 mph (864 km/h; 240 m/s; Mach 0.71), ship-launched Harpoon Block I & air-launched Harpoon Block IC; Greater than 537 mph (864 km/h; 240 m/s; Mach 0.71), ship-launched Harpoon Block IC & Block II
Guidance system	Sea-skimming cruise monitored by radar altimeter, active radar terminal homing
Launch platform	RGM-84A surface ship/TEL-launched AGM-84A air-launched UGM-84A submarine-launched

The Harpoon is an all-weather, over-the-horizon, anti-ship missile manufactured by McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing Defense, Space & Security). The AGM-84E Standoff Land Attack Missile (SLAM) and later AGM-84H/K SLAM-ER (Standoff Land Attack Missile – Expanded Response) are cruise missile variants.

The regular Harpoon uses active radar homing and flies just above the water to evade defenses. The missile can be launched from:

• Fixed-wing aircraft (AGM-84), without the solid-fuel rocket booster
• Surface ships (RGM-84), fitted with a solid-fuel rocket booster that detaches when expended, to allow the missile's main turbojet to maintain flight
• Submarines (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 (RGM-84), from which it would be fired with a solid-fuel rocket booster^[4]