Boeing has been awarded a combined $3.1 billion in contracts for Harpoon and Standoff Land Attack Missile Expanded Response (SLAM ER) weapon systems for Saudi Arabia.
The firm say that about $2.6 billion of that was contracted today while the remainder had been previously awarded.
“We are pleased to continue our long legacy of partnering with the Navy to build weapons that defend America and its international partners,” said Cindy Gruensfelder, vice president, Boeing Weapons.
“These awards will not only extend production of the Harpoon program through 2026, they will also restart the production line for SLAM ER and ensure deliveries through 2028.”
Boeing say it last delivered the SLAM ER weapon system in 2008. In October 2019, the firm began construction on a new 35,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility to support increased production for the Harpoon and SLAM ER programs.
Construction is expected to be complete in 2021.
Someone please help me out here. The MoD and RN both say Harpoon is coming to the end of its life yet Saudi Arabia has just ordered some new ones. Are these a diffrent model if so can the RN Harpoon be upgraded. Even if the cost of the upgrage is 30-50 % of a new missile that would be still a good deal.
I think one of the big issues with Harpoon is the range, which isn’t really a factor in the bathtub that is the Gulf. It also depends on what you want to target. For an small patrol boat harpoon probably still works just fine, if it’s an Frigate with more substantial anti missile systems you could run into trouble.
Although the airframe of the missile is basically the same each new block of the missile is essentially a new missile with greatly enhanced capability.
The UK uses block 1 missiles from the 1980s.
The latest missiles are block 2+ or block 3.
Although the older missiles can be upgraded to some extend they cannot have the same capability as the latest missiles.
We would need to scrap our block 1 and replace them with block 3 missiles which would incur cost.
It’s all about money! The RN probably know they will never use the harpoon anyway so why upgrade it.
Sorry Cam but if that is the reasoning we might as well not build anything as we never hope to use any of it.
More information can be found via the attached link.
“Harpoon Block II+
On 18 November 2015, the U.S. Navy tested the AGM-84N Harpoon Block II+ missile against a moving ship target. The Block II+ incorporates an improved GPS guidance kit and a net-enabled data-link that allows the missile to receive in-flight targeting updates. The Block II+ is planned to enter service in 2017.[8]
The USN intends to deploy the Harpoon Block II+ in late FY2018[9] by upgrading its existing inventory of Harpoon IC missiles.[10]
Harpoon Block III
Harpoon Block III was intended to be an upgrade package to the existing USN Block 1C missiles and Command Launch Systems (CLS) for guided missile cruisers, guided missile destroyers, and the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fighter aircraft. After experiencing an increase in the scope of required government ship integration, test and evaluation, and a delay in development of a data-link, the Harpoon Block III program was canceled by the U.S. Navy in April 2009.[citation needed]
Harpoon Block II+ ER
In April 2015, Boeing unveiled a modified version of the RGM-84 it called the Harpoon Next Generation. It increases the ship-launched Harpoon missile’s range from the Block II’s 70 nmi (81 mi; 130 km) to 167.5 nmi (192.8 mi; 310.2 km), along with a new lighter 300 lb (140 kg) warhead and a more fuel-efficient engine with electronic fuel controls. Boeing offered the missile as the U.S. Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship frigate upgrade over-the-horizon anti-ship missile as a cost-effective missile upgrade option; complete Next Gen Harpoons would cost approximately as much as a Block II at $1.2 million each, with upgrades for an existing missile costing half that.[2][11][12] The version is also called the Harpoon Block II + ER.[13] Boeing claims the Block II+ ER is superior to the Naval Strike Missile through its improved turbojet giving it greater range and active radar-homing seeker for all-weather operation, as well as a lighter but “more lethal” warhead.[14] Test shots in 2017 had been confirmed.[15] In May 2017, Boeing revealed it was no longer offering the upgraded Harpoon for the frigate OTH missile requirement, but would continue development of it.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harpoon_(missile)#Harpoon_Block_III
Still radar guided though!
I thought these kinds of deals are all about funneling money to us defence contractors from regimes to ensure American protection?
I just always assumed these were bribes, dressed up to look like weapons sales.
Old Harpoons can be upgraded at a cost,something like 60_70%of a new one,the range can be doubled with a smaller warhead and new engine but its still behind the capability of newer designs.
True, some of the newer designs look like they could be game changers, I for one look forward to Perseus. From my understanding the US Navy is upgrading the block 1C to II+ for a cost of about £500,000 per missile, I’m not sure how many the RN has but if they were to upgrade 100 missiles to get a further 10-15 years out of them that would be money well spent. Any new missile that the RN gets could go to the T26 as it needs to be intergrated to the system whereas the BlockII+ could go to the T23s and T45s as they are older platforms already designed for the harpoon. Or as an idea ships could carry a mix of old and new missiles, the older ones to be used as the sacrificial lamb reducing the enemy CIWS ammo fit whilst the new missiles follow up. Tom Clancy idea but a good one.
It’s for the SLAM-ER, not the Harpoon.
There are Harpoon upgrades mixed in as well.
But even Saudi doesn’t have 1000 Harpoon….most of these are precision strike missiles.
Exactly. These are precision strike land attack missiles. What does Saudi get? Saudi keeps Boeing and BAE Systems going and ensures that both the US and UK keep a presence in the region. What does US get? US keeps Saudi on side against Iran and stops it from thinking of doing anything against Israel.
I would like to see RAF P-8 get a few SLAM-ER while the production line is open.
Definitely, and the P8s look badass with 4 harpoons on the wing pylons, they mean business then, we have to have more that just sonar buoys and surveillance! We have to have offensive weapons.
The U.S. are going to integrate much more modern weapons than this on P8, this is an old low capability missile.
I know, my point was missiles look badass on the wings of the p8
Looks can be deceiving ,I doubt this old weapon can breach the defence of a Russian surface ship better to wait for some LRASM’s
Annoyingly SLAM-ER+, in a proposed even further upgraded version, lost the competition that led to Storm Shadow…it didn’t come close to spec.
And we were going to have 4 Storm Shadow on Nimrod MRA.4…
Back to the Future…
P8 is not supposed to get into a combat situation. It’s too valuable. Defensive weapons, yes, but if it ever gets into a combat situation then everyone around it has failed!
Stand-off Land Attack Missile Extended Range. That’s what SLAM-ER stands for. Why would the P-8 want to attack land targets?
Same reason we were looking to add Storm Shadow to Nimrod MRA.4. The more missiles you can launch in the early part of a conflict the better, MPA also have very long range so can in effect operate as bomb trucks. With the advent of precision stand off munitions it gives them a useful capability. SLAM-ER has an E/O capability so attacking targets in a littoral environment is a whole lot easier as well as having the ability to abort a strike if necessary.
But we shouldn’t forget that SLAM was first used in 1991. It’s an old system. A slightly more modern equivalent would be the Israeli Delilah, which is able to loiter more effectively than SLAM-ER.
SLAM,ER what a great name.
Looks like Saudi Arabia will be busy this decade.
I guess they really like the Slammer.
Still too slow and too easily detected by radar. We couldn’t fire enough of these things to penetrate a capable defence system.
Radar guided too which can be interfered with too easily I would expect.
The RN version of Harpoon is coming to the end of its life. Component obsolescence in the Ship board consoles and missile control cabinets, in the missiles them selves and boost motor Lifex are the main contributors.Another factor is its a really, really dumb missile ( thicker than a PTI at a spelling test dumb!).
Look what happened to the Iranians recently when they fired a dumb radar guided weapon and it ignored the target they where aiming at and hit the target towing/Laying range boat. Without a data link that’s it. You fire it and off it goes . No Hollywood movie big red self destruct button. Its going to keep going until it hits something( possibly not the target!) or runs out of fuel.
The new versions have data links that mean you can select a target or steer it off target if you have the wrong one. They can also be used for limited land attack via the GPS and they have better performance in the littoral when they need to overfly islands and land to get to a target.
Range for Harpoon isn’t great but its adequate. Remember a missiles range is that given for a straight line flight from launch platform to target . If you start adding dog legs to the flight to get missiles arriving at a target from different directions that cuts down the attack radius significantly. You do that to mess up anti missile defences and to improve the hit chance. 3 missiles from different directions have a better kill chance than 3 arriving from the same direction.
As for sinking a ship, 300+ pounds of HE will ruin your day and on anything short of a Kirov or Aircraft carrier its going to put the vessel out of action for some time. Complex electronics, power systems , chilled water etc dont like big bangs and shrapnel. The vessel may not sink but what good is say a T45 without its radar if a missile hit the generators which provide power or shredded the cables supplying data to the ops room consoles. You can get things like that back but its a jury rig and you do lose some capability.
The RN concluded years ago that Harpoon and Sub-Harpoon were useless in anything other than a WW3 situation as there was no way they would ever be able to use the missile due to ROE, for the reasons you’ve mentioned. Hence why they were so keen to get Sea Venom on Wildcat to replace the 40 year old Sea Skua (a tiny portion of the money used to develop and buy Sea Venom could have re-lifed a large part of the Harpoon 1C stockpile). Sea Skua and now Sea Venom were an anti-ship missile that you could use with restrictive ROE. Which is borne out by their success and use in combat. We sometimes forget that Sea Skua could lay claim to being the most combat proven and successful AShM in service ever.
Hear hear!
Skua was a joy to work on. You needed to do very little with it. Just load it, put on the wings, fly it and shoot it.
Some of the ones I looked after where part of the “one of the most successful asm” tag!
Try getting the warhead out with the 1950s version of locktite. No maintenance required, as it’s much easier for skates to use a hammer to make a big dent in the side and send it back to BAE.
They are tripling VAT in the same week they announce this massive missile purchase. Strange.
Doesn’t make much difference this week. They are locked down and it will be a 24hr, 5 day lockdown over Eid. No spending in the shops!
Pretty simple, all the money has been spent on 2 big empty steel boxes.
That should put the wind up the Houthis…