RGM-84 Harpoon Block II

HMAS Warramunga conducts a Harpoon Block II firing for a multi-national surface target engagement (SINKEX) off the coast of Hawaii in the Pacific Missile Range Facility, during RIMPAC 2010.

The RGM-84 Harpoon is a ship-launched, all-weather, over-the-horizon, anti-ship missile. Its low-level, sea-skimming cruise trajectory, active radar guidance and warhead design assure high survivability and effectiveness.

Harpoon Block II

Harpoon Block II expands the capabilities of the Harpoon anti-ship weapon. Harpoon Block II is capable of executing both anti-ship and land-strike missions.

To strike targets on land and ships in port, the missile uses GPS-aided inertial navigation to hit a designated target aimpoint. The 227 kilogram blast warhead delivers lethal firepower against a wide variety of land-based targets, including coastal defense sites, surface-to-air missile sites, exposed aircraft, port/industrial facilities and ships in port.

For conventional anti-ship missions, such as open-ocean and near-land, the GPS/INS eliminates midcourse guidance errors en route to the target area. The accurate navigation solution coupled with launch system improvements combine to offer better discrimination of target ships from islands, nearby land masses or other ships. These Block II improvements maintain Harpoon’s high hit probability against ships very close to land or traveling in congested sea lanes.

Video: During RIMPAC 2010, the Anzac Class frigate HMAS Warramunga fired a new RGM-84 Harpoon Block II missile into the decommissioned US amphibious assault carrier New Orleans. Warramunga was joined by three other allied ships from Canada and the United States. This is the first time Australia has joined with other nations for a missile test of this kind. It is also the first time the Harpoon missile has been fired from an Anzac Class frigate during the thirty year history of employing the Harpoon weapon system. Note: This YouTube video will not be viewable on the Defence Protected Network.