US Navy to Upgrade Harpoon Missile

From Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

U.S. Navy To Upgrade Harpoon Missile

10/19/2005 09:01:48 AM

By Marc Selinger

The U.S. Navy plans to begin an upgrade program for the Harpoon missile in fiscal 2007 to increase its accuracy and allow operators to retarget it after it is launched, a government official said Oct. 18.

"We're expecting it to be funded" in the Navy's upcoming FY '07 budget request, said Keith Sanders, deputy program executive officer for strike weapons at Naval Air Systems Command. The FY '07 request is due to be sent to Capitol Hill in early calendar 2006.

The enhanced missile, known as Harpoon Block III, would receive Global Positioning System satellite guidance. The anti-ship weapon would also get a data-link to receive in-flight target updates from existing surveillance platforms.

The upgrade program would be for existing Harpoons and does not envision buying new missiles, Sanders told The DAILY after speaking at a Precision Strike Association conference. The Boeing Co., the missile's manufacturer, likely will be awarded the upgrade contract without a competition because the company is considered the only one that could do the work, he said.

Boeing and NAVAIR indicated in March that the Navy was considering the Block III upgrade (DAILY, March 24).

The Harpoon, which is launched from aircraft, submarines and surface ships, has seen limited use by the Navy because there is "not much confidence" in the missile's existing ability to find its target in littoral environments, which have "lots of shipping, lots of movement, lots of background," Sanders said. According to a Boeing information sheet, the Block III upgrade "would create a highly capable weapon for the open water and littoral warfare environment, adding GPS capability, littoral performance improvement and in-flight target update solutions."

The Navy currently fields Harpoon Block ICs. Block II, which Boeing has sold to foreign countries, has several improvements over Block IC, including GPS navigation.

Because Block III would be a technological leap over Block IC, the Navy would have to conduct extensive training and exercises to become comfortable with the upgraded weapon, Sanders said.