Boeing is awarded a $73,200,000 not-to-exceed modification to a previously-awarded firm-fixed-price contract. This modification extends the period of performance and provides additional funding for long lead material in support of the Lot 91 full rate production of Harpoon missiles for the governments of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Thailand, Korea, Brazil and Japan. This modification combines purchases for the governments of Saudi Arabia ($63,135,788; 86%); Qatar ($7,274,491; 10%); Thailand ($1,763,513; 2%); Korea ($514,890; 1%); Brazil ($469,535; 1%); and Japan ($41,782; 1%). The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity and expected to be complete by December 2023.
The Harpoon is an all-weather, over-the-horizon, anti-ship missile, developed and manufactured by McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing Defense, Space & Security). The 500-pound Harpoon is an all-weather, over-the-horizon, anti-ship missile system. The Harpoon has also been adapted for carriage on several aircraft, including the P-3 Orion, the P-8 Poseidon, the AV-8B Harrier II, the F/A-18 Hornet and the U.S. Air Force B-52H bombers. The Harpoon was purchased by many American allies, including India, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, the United Arab Emirates and most NATO countries. The Harpoon is also capable of ship-to-land strikes.
The Harpoon Block II intended to offer an expanded engagement envelope, enhanced resistance to electronic countermeasures and improved targeting. Specifically, the Harpoon was initially designed as an open-ocean weapon. The Block II missiles continue progress begun with Block IE, and the Block II missile provides the Harpoon with a littoral-water anti-ship capability. The key improvements of the Harpoon Block II are obtained by incorporating the inertial measurement unit from the Joint Direct Attack Munition program, and the software, computer, Global Positioning System (GPS)/inertial navigation system and GPS antenna/receiver from the SLAM Expanded Response (SLAM-ER), an upgrade to the SLAM.
