Pak buying 130 new Harpoon missiles from US

NEW DELHI: Pakistan has placed orders with the United States for acquisition of 130 latest version Harpoon missiles at a price of 370 million dollars, Pakistani media reports said.

The missiles, belonging to the latest Block II version, would form part of the 1.5 billion dollar US military aid to Pakistan, according to 'The Pakistan Observer' newspaper.

Islamabad has placed orders for 50 submarine-launched (UGM-84L) missiles, 50 surface or ship-launched (RGM-84L) and 30 air-launched (AGM-84L), it said.

The Harpoon Block II version is an upgraded programme designed to improve the missile's ability to attack targets in congested littoral environments where nearby land masses or ships can provide cover for targets.

The missiles are enabled to use the low-cost Global Positioning System (GPS), GPS antennae and software from Boeing's Standoff Land Attack Missile (SLAM) and SLAM Expanded Response Harpoon variants.

Once the missile arrives at an area, the targeting system can use the shoreline data provided by the launch platform to help it distinguish between a ship and landmass and deliver lethal firepower against targets, like coastal anti-surface missile sites and ships in port.

The newspaper said Pakistan's orders, placed at the recent meeting of the Pak-US Defence Consultative Group, also include five encapsulated Harpoon Command Launch Systems, 115 containers, missile modifications, training devices, spares and repair parts, technical support and support equipment.