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| HARM (missile) | |
|---|---|
| Name | AGM-88 HARM |
| Origin | United States |
| Type | Anti-radiation missile |
| Service | 1985–present |
| Used by | United States United States Air Force, United States Navy; NATO; Egypt, Greece, Turkey, Romania (examples) |
| Manufacturer | Texas Instruments; Raytheon Technologies |
| Weight | ~360 kg |
| Length | 3.66 m |
| Diameter | 254 mm |
| Speed | Mach 2+ |
| Filling | High-explosive blast-fragmentation |
| Guidance | Passive radar homing, inertial navigation |
| Launch platforms | F-16 Fighting Falcon, F/A-18 Hornet, EA-6B Prowler, EA-18G Growler, A-7 Corsair II |
HARM (missile) The AGM-88 HARM is a United States–developed anti-radiation missile designed to detect, home on, and destroy radar emitters. Introduced during the late Cold War, the weapon plays a central role in suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD) missions flown by air forces such as the United States Air Force and United States Navy. The HARM family has evolved through multiple upgrades to address changing threats posed by integrated air defense systems fielded by states like Iraq, Yugoslavia, and Iran.
Development began in the 1970s when Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency studies and requirements from the Office of the Secretary of Defense identified a need to counter Soviet-era radar networks such as those based on the S-75 Dvina and S-125 Neva. Prime development contractors included Texas Instruments and later Raytheon Company, coordinated with programs run by the Aeronautical Systems Division and the Naval Air Systems Command. Design emphasized a high-speed airframe, directional passive radar receivers, and a warhead optimized for destroying antenna arrays and associated electronics. The program drew on lessons from conflicts including the Yom Kippur War and the Vietnam War, where suppression of radar-guided surface-to-air missiles was pivotal to air superiority.
The AGM-88 series features a solid-fuel rocket motor, broadband seeker heads, and an internal inertial measurement unit developed with support from contractors tied to Defense Research Agency-style labs. Typical specifications include a length of approximately 3.66 m, diameter of 254 mm, and launch weight near 360 kg. Warhead types are blast‑fragmentation charges derived from ordnance families used by United States Department of Defense tactical missiles; fuzing options include impact and proximity. Avionics integrate with aircraft stores management and datalink suites provisioned on platforms such as the F-16 Fighting Falcon and F/A-18 Hornet, enabling pre-launch target coordinates and post-launch updates when linked to pods like the AN/ASQ-213 HARM Targeting System.
HARM entered service in the mid-1980s and first saw widespread use during operations over Iraq in the 1991 Gulf War, where coalition air campaigns prioritized neutralizing integrated air defenses built around systems like the SA-2 Guideline. Subsequent combat employment occurred during NATO operations over Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo, where HARM sorties supported strike packages against mobile and fixed radar sites. In the 21st century, campaigns over Iraq (2003) and operations against non-state and state actors further demonstrated HARM’s value in SEAD and destruction of radar networks supplemented by platforms such as the EA-6B Prowler and EA-18G Growler.
Variants include the original AGM-88A, improved AGM-88B and AGM-88C seeker and guidance revisions, and the prominent AGM-88E AARGM upgrade co-developed by Raytheon and Mellon-linked contractors incorporating millimeter-wave radar and GPS-enhanced inertial navigation. Upgrades responded to tactics such as radar shutdown, relocation, and emission control employed by operators of S-300 and S-200 series systems. Integration kits and software blocks expanded compatibility with new aircraft types and mission planning systems fielded by NATO members like United Kingdom and Italy.
HARM’s primary guidance is passive radar homing using broadband receivers tuned to detect emissions from target radars; supplementary inertial navigation allows target area flight when emitters are off. To defeat tactics of radar operators—such as shutdown, decoy emitters, or emitter relocation—upgrades added memory modes, home-on-jam features, and datalinked retargeting enabling mid-course updates from platforms like the E-3 Sentry and EA-18G Growler. Adversary countermeasures include mobile low-probability-of-intercept radars and active electronic attack suites developed by industries allied with systems from Russia and China, prompting continued development of anti-radiation tactics and seeker hardening programs funded through Office of the Secretary of Defense acquisition channels.
Primary operators include the United States Air Force, United States Navy, and several NATO air arms such as Germany and Turkey. Exported variants and upgrade packages have been fielded by countries including Egypt, Greece, and Romania under foreign military sales overseen by Defense Security Cooperation Agency. Launch platforms have ranged from single-seat fighters like the F-16 Fighting Falcon to carrier-based aircraft such as the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and electronic attack platforms operated by United States Marine Corps squadrons.
HARM has been credited with degrading adversary radar coverage in multiple conflicts, contributing to air superiority for coalition forces in operations against Iraq, Yugoslavia, and other theaters. Incidents include friendly-fire and collateral-damage controversies when targeting radar installations co-located with civilian infrastructure in contested airspaces like those over Kosovo and during asymmetric campaigns. Technical issues and launcher integration faults have occasionally reduced sortie effectiveness, prompting fleet-wide software and hardware retrofits managed by Air Force Materiel Command and Naval Air Systems Command.
Category:Air-to-surface missiles Category:United States military rockets and missiles