AGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missile is an anti-ship missile developed by the Macdonald-Douglas Company of the United States. It was used by the armed forces in 1979. It is also the main anti-ship weapon in active service of the US Navy and Air Force. It can be used from aircraft and various surface warships. And launch on a submarine. In addition, the U.S. Navy has developed a long-range land attack type using Harpoon missiles. Among the general numbers of the US three services, AGM-84 is an air-launched type, RGM-84 is a ship-launched type, and UGM-84 is an underwater submarine-launched type, but their basic structure is the same. The development cost of the
Harpoon missile was 382.3 million U.S. dollars, the procurement cost was 3909.6 million U.S. dollars, totaling 4291.9 million U.S. dollars, 84 sample missiles were manufactured, the first batch of production totaled 4013, the monthly production rate was 40, and the unit price was 974,000 U.S. dollars. Most of the ship-launched Harpoon missiles are installed on the Mk 141 missile launcher, but some ships that lack space for the launcher can also be projected using the Mk 13 missile launcher or the MK-16 anti-submarine rocket launcher. It is still not compatible with the Mark 41 vertical launch system.
Because the US military believes that it is not easy to sink a large ship with only one or two Harpoon missiles, and the US Navy has obvious air superiority. The role of Harpoon missiles in the US Navy is to paralyze enemy ships, and then the carrier-based aircraft of the aircraft carrier Air attack sinks, so when the Harpoon missile is designed to attack medium and large ships, it will adopt dive attack and low-altitude detonation mode. It will quickly climb at the end of the flight, and then immediately dive above the target to detonate the warhead, using the shock wave to reach The debris destroys the enemy ship’s radar equipment installed on the bridge and mast, causing it to lose its target detection and shooting control capabilities, and then send carrier-based aircraft to sink the enemy ship that has lost its combat capability. This attack method can not only reduce the chance of missing the target, but the enemy ship is also difficult to avoid, but because this mode is not suitable for attacking small ships, the armor-piercing detonation mode can be used later. The
Harpoon missile had two misfires in 1981 and 1982. One of them occurred in the U.S. Navy, and the other occurred on the Danish Navy frigates. The first actual combat record of the Harpoon missile occurred during the Iran-Iraq War. In November 1980, Iran attacked and sank two Iraq-owned OSA-class guided missile boats during Operation Pearl. The armament used by Iran includes Harpoon missiles.
In 1986, the US Navy sank two Libyan-owned patrol boats with harpoon missiles in Sidra Bay. Two of the missiles were launched by the CG-48 Yorkton, but they may not have hit the target; the A-6 invader attack aircraft launched several Harpoon missiles, which are believed to have hit their targets. Although preliminary reports after the attack showed that the missiles launched by the Yorkton also hit the patrol boat it was aimed at, follow-up reports showed that the harpoon missiles may have hit only false targets, not the patrol boats originally thought
, The United States sank the Sahand frigate belonging to the Iranian Navy with a Harpoon missile. The Iranian side also fired a Harpoon missile to the USS CG-28 Wainwright guided missile cruiser, but it was electronically interfered by the US military and missed the target. In December of the same year, a Harpoon missile fired by an F/A-18 fighter aircraft belonging to the U.S. Navy CV-64 hit an Indian cargo ship Jagvivek. It is believed that the reason for this occurrence was that the cargo ship strayed into the sea area of the exercise because it had not been notified of the maritime exercise when it left the port. Therefore, the Harpoon missile equipped with the exercise warhead mistakenly believed that the ship was its target and killed one person. After the US Littoral Combat Ship is equipped with Harpoon anti-ship missiles, it will increase its activities in the South China Sea. We must have a clear understanding and serious response to this. Z1z
is equipped with a Harpoon Guide model diagram of the Independence. Note that the missile launcher is directly installed on the deck. The model diagram of a free-class harpoon missile is also installed directly on the deck. In early February 2016, the U.S. Navy and Boeing reached an agreement. The latter will integrate the Harpoon missile into the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS). According to the agreement, the latter will start to install the Harpoon anti-ship missile in the third quarter of this year to enhance the anti-ship combat capability. According to news from overseas media, the LCS installation of the Harpoon missile is an emergency installation, which means that the Harpoon missile still uses the traditional inclined launcher.Instead of a vertical launch system, and the fire control system is not integrated into the LCS, an independent display console and computer will be used. This modification means that LCS has compromised on two key performances: high speed and stealth, because of the harpoon The exposed installation of the missile on the deck will cause the center of gravity of the ship to rise, which will affect the stability of the ship, thereby reducing the speed of the ship. In addition, the exposed launcher will also increase the ship's RCS.
The Griffin missile originally planned for the LCS, it can be seen that it is a small missile. The
cluster speedboat is the original combat target of the LCS and brought such an adverse effect. The US Navy still chooses such a modification, which shows that the LCS combat object and battlefield. Significant changes have taken place in the environment and the environment. Among its original missions, the LCS was to enter the Persian Gulf or the coast of the Korean Peninsula under the cover of the aircraft carrier formation to perform missions such as attacking small speedboats, anti-submarine and mine clearance, considering the combat operations at that time The target lacks large and medium-sized surface ships, and the main means of maritime warfare is light and small speedboats. Therefore, LCS's anti-ship weapons are mainly artillery and light missiles. Initially, the network fire missile system was selected to attack small and medium speedboats, but this type of missile was developed It was discontinued and later replaced by Griffin multi-purpose missiles. The LCS can be equipped with up to 45 Griffin missiles. However, the U.S. Navy considered that this type of missile was not powerful enough. In 2015, it finally decided to use Longbow Haierfa missiles and M299 vertical. Launched by the launch system, the LCS can be equipped with 24 missiles to deal with the attack of the group speedboat.
LCS decided to use the Longbow Haierfa missile
LCS can be equipped with 24 longbow Haierfa, using the M299 vertical launch system, the small picture is the LCS launching Longbow Haierfa imaginary map. Some combat ships were transferred to the Asia-Pacific region, including the LCS. According to overseas media reports, the USS Liberty was deployed to Singapore in 2013, while the U.S. Navy plans to deploy 4 LCSs in Singapore. The Littoral Combat Ship Fort Worth entered the South China Sea in 2015 and was monitored by the Chinese Navy. From here we can see that the combat environment of LCS has shifted from the Persian Gulf and the Korean Peninsula to the South China Sea, and its combat targets are also more powerful. It has advanced and complete sea detection and command and control systems, including marine surveillance satellites, electronic reconnaissance satellites, Early warning aircraft, maritime patrol aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles and advanced sea search radars. In LCS, the surface ships on the ground have larger tonnage and stronger combat capabilities. They are basically equipped with helicopter-guided over-the-horizon anti-ship missiles. The system has a strong ability to attack the sea. In this case, it is difficult for the LCS to get rid of the enemy’s detection and attack by virtue of its stealth and high-speed performance. Therefore, in 2015 Fort Worth was carried out in the South China Sea with the cooperation of the Larsen. The “cruise” operation of LCS avoids the embarrassing situation of almost “running naked” in the face of the opposing surface ship. Z1z
Fort Worth “cruising” in the South China Sea is monitored by the Chinese Navy. It can be seen that it basically has no ability to counter surface targets. From the current point of view, the US Navy’s “cruising” operations in the South China Sea may be normalized. Large ships like the USS Mori Aegis destroyer will not only increase the cost and expense of operations, but may also cause escalation of the situation. The United States’ policy on the South China Sea is to “lead and not send”, mixing a pool of muddy water while maintaining the ability to get away at any time. In addition, the U.S. Navy’s main ships are relatively inadequate. If such actions continue to be taken, it will also make the deployment of troops more difficult. Therefore, the LCS deployed in Singapore may be entrusted with important tasks. The advantages of LCS include fast speed, maneuverability and flexibility. Starting from Singapore on the edge of the South China Sea, it can quickly reach the relevant waters of the South China Sea for so-called "cruise", or maintain its presence in the South China Sea through visits to the Philippines and Vietnam and joint exercises to show off its force. On the other hand, it can also reduce the sensitivity of related actions, reduce costs and expenses, and avoid many problems caused by the use of large ships.
LCS "Colorado" test-fired NSM missile
Free-level LCS equipped with NSM model
Independent level LCS equipped with NSM model However, in this way, the problem of LCS not having anti-ship missiles has become prominent. Not even a light frigate like 056The LCS needs to be equipped with over-the-horizon anti-ship missiles. According to previous overseas media reports, the US Navy has two options. One is the Norwegian NSM missile. In 2014, the LCS "Colorado" tested the NSM. The missile, according to the plan, the Freedom-level LCS will be equipped with 12 NSM missiles, and the independent level will have 16 NSM missiles, but the US Navy may be equipped with JSM missiles, which is an improved version of NSM missiles, and mainly adopts two-sided air intake With the addition of a two-way data link, the range has been increased to 280 kilometers. However, considering that the development and maturity of JSM will take time, plus cost and expense factors, the U.S. Navy finally decided to install the Harpoon anti-ship missile system for the LCS. Its advantage is that it can directly use the U.S. Navy's large inventory of Harpoon anti-ship missiles, and can also use the U.S. Navy's existing logistics support system. Although the range of the Harpoon missile is lower than JSM, it takes into account the detection and supervision of LCS The range of the Harpoon missile is actually sufficient for the ability of the guidance system. Z1z
LCS plans to install JSM, pay attention to the difference with NSM
LCS launches Harpoon anti-ship missile imagination from here, we can see that the LCS emergency installation of Harpoon anti-ship missile is actually for better mission in the South China Sea From this perspective, we will often see LCS in the South China Sea in the future, which also shows that the United States is stepping up its return to the Asia-Pacific strategy and strengthening its efforts to contain China at sea. We must have a clear understanding and serious response to this. .
