Harpoon Missile Vs Surface Ships: US Navy, Libya and Iran 1986-88

80 pages

Lt Cdr Andrew Ward

Osprey releases this book under its ‘Duel: Engage the Enemy’ label. The series covers real-life engagements from the second half of the 20th century. Many of the platforms and weapons systems of that era remain in use today, if not by Western forces they remain in many developing world militaries. Therefore, we should take note of the lessons learned from these battles. Nordeen covers two: Operation PRAIRIE FIRE against Gaddafi’s Libya in March 1986 and the one-day battle at sea between the US and Iranian navies on 18 April 1988: Operation PRAYING MANTIS. The Gulf material is more relevant for today’s RN, operating from Bahrain. Each individual Harpoon firing is covered in exhaustive detail, with illuminating first-hand accounts from the American side.

Harpoon’s evolution as an answer to the big, fast, heavy Soviet anti-ship cruise missiles of the 1960s and 1970s is surprising. At just 700kg with a small warhead and a cruising speed of only Mach 0.8, Harpoon is not a ‘carrier killer’ weapon like SA-N-3 Shaddock or the aptly named seven tonne SS-N-19 Shipwreck. A lighter weight ensured Harpoon could be launched en masse from ships, shore batteries, land and carrier-based aircraft, and submarines. Crucially, in a requirement credited to US Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, Harpoon was designed to fit existing missile launchers.

As ever with Osprey, the text is concise and accessible, but the real value is in the illustrations and maps. There are contemporary black and white images of burning Libyan and Iranian ships and a series of deployment phots. of the aircrew who took part in Harpoon-firing missions. Illustrator Jim Laurier provides action scenes of the critical moments of Operation PRAYING MANTIS, including a tableau piece of Iranian sailors desperately trying to engage a US Navy A-6 Intruder with SA-7 MANPAD shoulder-launched missiles, and a striking double-page spread of Sahand about to be blown apart by a Harpoon missile launched by a US Navy A-6 Intruder.

The presence of fishing dhows nearby realistically depicts the crowded waters of the Gulf. The text explains the operators’ awareness of Harpoon’s potential to lock onto larger targets, including oil platforms and tankers. Aircrew approached to within visual range to positively identify a target before standing off to fire. Harpoon was originally designed for P-3 maritime patrol aircraft so they could engage enemy warships safely out of range of surface-to-air missiles. In practice, the exigencies of congested waterways and rules of engagement negated this advantage.

Interestingly, a pre-Revolution supplied Block I Harpoon was fired at the USS Wainwright by the Iranian corvette Joshan. Alerted by the ship’s helicopter, the CO turned the bow onto the bearing, jammed the incoming missile’s seeker and deployed chaff clouds. The missile was seduced away from the destroyer, missing by just half a cable (100 yards). This is the real-life experience which underpins contemporary electronic warfare doctrine and anti-ship missile defence.

There is limited coverage of the UGM-84 Harpoon used by RN submarines – this slim volume focuses on real-life battle experience with the weapon. Harpoon was withdrawn from RN service in 2020 but remains prevalent – the Royal Netherlands Navy fired one at the decommissioned USS Tarawa as recently as Exercise RIMPAC 24. Some 7,000 have been produced and 30 navies worldwide still use Harpoon. This book shows what it can and cannot do.