The Probert Encyclopaedia of Warfare

AGM-84

The AGM-84 (Harpoon) is an American guided anti-ship missile designed for deployment on surface ships, aircraft, submarines and ground-based installations. It has a range of 102 km and a flight speed of mach 0.75. The Harpoon Weapon System consists of the missile, launcher and a Command Launch System (CLS). The CLS can be a stand-alone system such as the Harpoon Shipboard (HSCLCS), Harpoon Aircraft (HACLCS), and the Encapsulated Harpoon Command and Launch Subsystems (EHCLS), or its functions can be integrated into an aircraft, ship or submarine fire control system. The warhead is a 500 pound, blast/fragmentation, high explosive unitary warhead. Delayed fusing is employed to permit warhead penetration of the ship's hull. When Harpoon is launched from ships, ground-based installations and submarines, the turbojet engine starts automatically after booster separation. For air- launched Harpoon, the booster is not used; the turbojet engine fires on command or automatically depending on speed and altitude of the launch
aircraft. Using the MGU and data from the radar altimeter, the missile flies at the optimum height for the prevailing sea state. The radar seeker is initialised at mid-course cruise altitude as it approaches the target. After acquisition, Harpoon immediately descends to the sea skimming altitude. Just prior to impact the missile executes a shallow pop-up or maintains sea skimming into the target.
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