The 53rd Test and Evaluation Group completed an operational taxi test with a U.S. Navy AGM-84N Harpoon Block II+ anti-ship missile loaded on a U.S. Air Force F-16 in a demonstration of rapid weapons integration capabilities.
Seeking an alternative to traditional weapon integration timelines, which can often take many years, this demonstration showcases the ability to expedite the process with minimal modifications required. This allows for greater adaptability in military planning.
The Chief Project Manager for Rapid Integration commented on the test: “Our primary objective was to demonstrate that rapid weapons integration on U.S. Air Force platforms can be achieved efficiently by modifying middleware, without necessitating extensive updates to the aircraft itself.”
As evidenced by the released images, the test involved an XATM-84N Harpoon Block II+. The XATM part of this designation reveals the missile to be a captive-carry training round with an inert warhead but functional electronics. The N variant of the Harpoon was developed during the 2010s and offers improved datalinking and enhanced guidance capabilities. It was first deployed operationally in 2017 on U.S. Navy F/A-18 Super Hornets.
While the Harpoon has been seen fitted to F-16s before, especially in foreign service, the U.S. Air Force has not historically been an operational user of the missile on its fighter aircraft. Instead, anti-ship capabilities were to be provided by the U.S. Navy, in addition to some capability offered by B-52 Stratofortress and B-1B Lancer bombers.
Nevertheless, prior experience and knowledge on fitting the Harpoon to the F-16 will have certainly helped the quick integration process for this demonstration. The Air Force hopes that lessons learned during this process will be able to be applied to the integration of future weapons systems, allowing for faster deployment of emerging technologies to operational units.
A notable example of such delays in weapon integration is the AIM-9X Sidewinder, which entered service on the F-15C Eagle and F/A-18 Hornet in 2003. It was not until 2016 that the U.S. Air Force’s premier air superiority fighter, the F-22 Raptor, deployed operationally with the AIM-9X.
To allow for an expedited integration, the testing team developed a ‘gateway’ system which translated the communications between the missile and the jet, rather than directly modifying the software of either platform. Since such software modifications would require certification processes of their own, this alone likely negated the need for many hundreds, if not thousands, of hours of development time.
The Harpoon Missile
First fielded in 1977, the Harpoon anti-ship missile is probably one of the most famous types of missiles in history. They have been seen or referenced in a number of films, TV shows, games, and books. Over 30 nations have procured at least one variant of the Harpoon for their armed forces.
Developed by McDonnell Douglas, the weapon became a Boeing product following the 1997 merger of the two aerospace giants. Since then, it has continued to receive upgrades, making the current generation of Harpoon a very different beast to the original.
Harpoons can be launched from aircraft, surface ships, submarines, and land vehicles. Though used in combat a number of times throughout its service life, one of the most famous engagements involving the Harpoon is undoubtedly the sinking of the Iranian frigate Sahand during Operation Praying Mantis.
An advanced air-launched land attack cruise missile was developed from the Harpoon and deployed during the 1990s as the AGM-84E Standoff Land Attack Missile, or SLAM, to be fielded on U.S. Navy F/A-18C Hornets and A-6E Intruders. Pre-production units were used successfully to strike Iraqi targets during the 1991 Gulf War. Full scale production commenced soon after the war came to a close.
From 2000, the SLAM was replaced by the AGM-84H/K SLAM-ER (Standoff Land Attack Missile-Expanded Response), which increased the missile’s range and provided a more sophisticated guidance package. The SLAM-ER is currently deployed by the U.S. Navy on F/A-18E/F Super Hornets and P-8A Poseidons. Overseas, similarly to the Harpoon, the weapon has been deployed on F-15s and F-16s.
SLAM-ER saw combat service in Iraq and Afghanistan, and garnered a reputation as an extremely precise weapon with a publicly announced circular error probable (CEP) of just 3 meters.
While the Harpoon and its derivatives remain in production and capability development continues, procurement decisions have been swaying towards newer designs with more potential for future capabilities as well as built-in stealth features. One such design is the AGM-158C Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM), which has been ordered by both the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy.
Norway’s Kongsberg has developed the Naval Strike Missile, which has been chosen as a permanent or interim replacement for the Harpoon on surface ships by several nations including the United States. An air-launched variant, designed as a general anti-surface weapon, called the Joint Strike Missile has also been procured by the U.S. Air Force because, unlike the AGM-158, it is able to be carried internally by the F-35A Lightning II.
