Harpoon (missile)

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.

A/R/UGM-84 Harpoon
A Harpoon missile on static display at the USS Bowfin museum at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
TypeAnti-ship missile
Place of originUnited States
Service history
In service1977–present
Used bySee operators
WarsIran–Iraq War
Russo-Ukrainian War
Production history
ManufacturerMcDonnell Douglas
Boeing Defense, Space & Security
Unit costUS$1,406,812 for Harpoon Block II (2020)
No. built7,500
Specifications
Mass1,523 lb (691 kg) including booster
Length
  • 12.6 ft (3.8 m), air-launched;
  • 15 ft (4.6 m), surface- and submarine-launched
Diameter13.5 in (34 cm)
Wingspan3 ft (0.91 m)
Warhead488 pounds (221 kg)
Detonation
mechanism
Impact fuze

EngineTeledyne 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;
  • Greater than 67 nmi (124 km), ship-launched Harpoon Block II;
  • 120 nmi (220 km), air-launched Block IC
Flight altitudeSea-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 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
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