RGM-84 Harpoon

A US surface-launched, over-the-horizon anti-ship cruise missile that uses a sea-skimming flight profile and active radar homing to attack ships from warships or coastal batteries.

Overview

The RGM-84 Harpoon is the surface-launched member of the US A/R/UGM-84 family of all-weather anti-ship cruise missiles. Developed by McDonnell Douglas and now manufactured by Boeing, Harpoon combines inertial mid-course guidance, low-altitude sea-skimming flight and an active radar terminal seeker. The RGM version uses a solid-propellant booster to leave shipboard canisters or coastal launchers before its turbojet sustainer takes over. The related AGM-84 is carried by aircraft, while the UGM-84 was configured for submarine launch.

Harpoon entered US Navy service in 1977 and became one of the most widely exported Western anti-ship missiles. NAVAIR describes the family as deployable from surface ships, submarines, aircraft and shore batteries, with successive blocks adding improved flight profiles, navigation and resistance to countermeasures. Its continued relevance rests less on exceptional speed or stealth than on availability, broad platform integration and a mature international support base.

Ukraine received coastal Harpoon launchers and missiles from Denmark and other partners in 2022. The weapons supplemented Ukraine's domestic Neptune batteries and helped constrain Russian naval activity in the north-western Black Sea. Their best-documented Ukrainian engagement was the June 2022 sinking of the Russian rescue tug Spasatel Vasily Bekh near Snake Island.

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