$1.5m-魚叉-harpoon-range-300km

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

Harpoon is an all-weather, over-the-horizon, anti-ship missile system.  It has a low-level, sea-skimming cruise trajectory with active radar  guidance. The Harpoon missile is the world's most successful anti-ship  missile and is in service with the armed forces of more than 30  countries, according to Boeing.Apr 12, 2022

How Harpoon anti-ship missiles in Ukraine's arsenal can ...

WASHINGTON,
May 19 (Reuters) - The White House is working to put advanced anti-ship
missiles in the hands of Ukrainian fighters to help defeat Russia's
naval blockade, officials said, amid concerns more powerful weapons that
could sink Russian warships would intensify the conflict.

Ukraine
has made no secret it wants more advanced U.S. capabilities beyond its
current inventory of artillery, Javelin and Stinger missiles, and other
arms. Kyiv's list, for example, includes missiles that could push the
Russian navy away from its Black Sea ports, allowing the restart of
shipments of grain and other agricultural products worldwide.

Current
and former U.S. officials and congressional sources have cited
roadblocks to sending longer range, more powerful weapons to Ukraine
that include lengthy training requirements, difficulties maintaining
equipment, or concerns U.S. weaponry could be captured by Russian
forces, in addition to the fear of escalation. read more

But
three U.S. officials and two congressional sources said two types of
powerful anti-ship missiles, the Harpoon made by Boeing (BA.N) and the Naval Strike Missile made by Kongsberg (KOG.OL) and Raytheon Technologies (RTX.N)
were in active consideration for either direct shipment to Ukraine, or
through a transfer from a European ally that has the missiles.

WASHINGTON,
May 19 (Reuters) - The White House is working to put advanced anti-ship
missiles in the hands of Ukrainian fighters to help defeat Russia's
naval blockade, officials said, amid concerns more powerful weapons that
could sink Russian warships would intensify the conflict.

Ukraine
has made no secret it wants more advanced U.S. capabilities beyond its
current inventory of artillery, Javelin and Stinger missiles, and other
arms. Kyiv's list, for example, includes missiles that could push the
Russian navy away from its Black Sea ports, allowing the restart of
shipments of grain and other agricultural products worldwide.

Current
and former U.S. officials and congressional sources have cited
roadblocks to sending longer range, more powerful weapons to Ukraine
that include lengthy training requirements, difficulties maintaining
equipment, or concerns U.S. weaponry could be captured by Russian
forces, in addition to the fear of escalation. read more

But
three U.S. officials and two congressional sources said two types of
powerful anti-ship missiles, the Harpoon made by Boeing (BA.N) and the Naval Strike Missile made by Kongsberg (KOG.OL) and Raytheon Technologies (RTX.N)
were in active consideration for either direct shipment to Ukraine, or
through a transfer from a European ally that has the missiles.

In
April, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy appealed to Portugal to
provide the Ukrainian military with Harpoons, which have a range of up
to almost 300 km.

But
there are several issues keeping Ukraine from receiving the missiles.
For one, there is limited availability of platforms to launch Harpoons
from shore -- a technically challenging solution according to several
officials -- as it is mostly a sea-based missile.

Two
U.S. officials said the United States was working on potential
solutions that included pulling a launcher off of a U.S. ship. Both
missiles cost about $1.5 million per round, according to experts and
industry executives.

About
20 Russian Navy vessels, including submarines, are in the Black Sea
operational zone, the British defense ministry has said.

Bryan
Clark, a naval expert at the Hudson Institute, said 12 to 24 anti-ship
missiles like the Harpoon with ranges over 100 km would be enough to
threaten Russian ships and could convince Moscow to lift the blockade.
"If Putin persists, Ukraine could take out the largest Russian ships,
since they have nowhere to hide in the Black Sea," Clark said.

Russia has already suffered losses at sea, notably the sinking of the cruiser Moskva, the flagship of its Black Sea fleet.

WHO GOES FIRST?

A
handful of countries would be willing to send Harpoons to Ukraine, the
U.S. officials and the congressional sources said. But no one wants to
be the first or only nation to do so, fearing reprisals from Russia if a
ship is sunk with a Harpoon from their stockpile, the third U.S
official said.

That
U.S. official said one country is considering being the first to supply
the missile to Ukraine. Once that "well stocked" nation commits to
sending Harpoons, others might follow, the official said.

The
Naval Strike Missile (NSM) can be launched from the Ukrainian coast and
has a range of 250 km. It also takes less than 14 days training to
operate.

The
sources said NSMs were viewed as less logistically difficult than
Harpoons, because NATO allies could loan mobile ground launchers which
are available, and warheads from Norway.

The
first two U.S. officials and the congressional sources said the United
States was trying to work out a way for Ukraine to obtain NSM and
launchers from European allies.

The congressional sources said another option would be for Norway to donate NSMs to Ukraine, an idea supported by Norwegian members of parliament.
The Norwegian Ministry of Defense declined to comment on what
additional contributions of arms and defense equipment it may consider
offering to Ukraine.

All
weapons requests that have U.S. content such as Harpoons and NSMs would
have to be approved by the U.S. State Department, which takes guidance
from the White House.

Another
weapon high on Ukraine's shopping list are Multiple Rocket Launch
Systems (MLRS) such as the M270 made by Lockheed Martin (LMT.N) which can strike a target 70 or more kilometers away, a three-fold increase over many of their current howitzer rounds. read more

In
recent weeks, the Biden administration decided instead to send M777
towed howitzers which could be deployed faster and shipped in larger
quantities, the two U.S. officials said.

The
two U.S. officials said the M270 or similar system like the M142 HIMARS
would be considered for shipment to Ukraine once Congress passed a $40
billion supplemental funding bill that would authorize an additional $11
billion worth of Presidential Drawdown Authority. That lets the
president authorize the transfer of excess weapons from U.S. stocks
without congressional approval in response to an emergency. read more