US to rectify deficiency with Saudi Harpoon missiles

[Zarvan]

Boeing is to rectify the software of Harpoon Block 2 missiles supplied to Saudi Arabia to improve their short-range capabilities. Source: Australian Department of Defence
The US Department of Defense (DoD) has awarded Boeing a contract to rectify a deficiency with the short-range capabilities of the RGM/AGM-84 Harpoon long-range missile fielded by Saudi Arabia.

The contract, which was awarded on 16 December, is valued at USD8.8 million and covers the development and implementation associated with an upgrade to the software of the Harpoon Block 2 missile to better perform the coastal target suppression mission.

Work is expected to be completed in March 2019.

Saudi Arabia has an undisclosed number of Harpoons in its inventory, and actually scored the only recorded 'kill' for the missile against an Iraqi minelayer during the Desert Storm campaign in 1991. In Royal Saudi Navy (RSN) use they are currently carried aboard the Badr corvette and Al Siddiq guided-missile ship.

In 2010 it was announced that Saudi Arabia would procure additional Harpoons (presumed to be Block 2s) as part of a much larger arms package it was to receive from the United States. There has been no evidence that these missiles have yet been delivered, but on 5 November Boeing was awarded a contract to provide Lot 89 Harpoon and/or and Standoff Land Attack Missile - Expanded Response (SLAM-ER) missiles to a number of Foreign Military Sales customers, including Saudi Arabia. Work on that contract is expected to be completed in June 2017.

The Harpoon Block 2 has been earmarked for use aboard the RSN's Multi-Mission Surface Combatant (MMSC) frigate (a significantly modified variant of the Freedom-class Littoral Combat Ship), and the Royal Saudi Air Force's (RSAF's) Boeing F-15SA Advanced Eagles when they enter service. Airbus Defence and Space is also looking at integrating the missile onto the Eurofighter Typhoon but it is not clear if this is intended for the RSAF.

Measuring about 4.5 m in length and weighing close to 700 kg, the turbojet-powered Harpoon has been around since the mid-1970s.

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US to rectify deficiency with Saudi Harpoon missiles | IHS Jane's 360