Qatar to arm F-15QAs with Harpoon Block 2 anti-shipping missile

Qatar is to equip its recently procured Boeing F-15QA Advanced Eagle combat aircraft with the Boeing AGM-84L Harpoon Block 2 anti-shipping missile, it was disclosed on 29 April.

Qatar is to equip its F-15QA Advanced Eagle combat aircraft with the Harpoon Block 2 anti-shipping missile (not pictured in this image). (Boeing)

The US Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) Precision Strike Weapons Program Office (PMA-201) said that it is to issue Boeing with a sole-source contract to conduct the integration work on behalf of the Qatar Emiri Air Force (QEAF). A contract award for the procurement of a test asset is anticipated for the fourth quarter of fiscal year (FY) 2021, and work is anticipated to last for 26 months.

Qatar has ordered 36 F-15QA aircraft as part of a wider build-up of its combat aviation capabilities. Production began in August 2018, with deliveries set to run through to the end of 2022.

Measuring about 4.5 m in length and weighing close to 700 kg, the turbojet-powered Harpoon has been around since the mid-1970s. The Harpoon Block 2 specifically is designed to engage a wide variety of targets, both on land and at sea, such as coastal batteries, surface-to-air missile sites, aircraft and airfields, port or industrial facilities, as well as ships tied up in harbours.

The missile is guided by a Global Position System (GPS) and an Inertial Navigation System (INS) and is reported to have a range of 124 km. As noted by Jane’s Air Launched Weapons , for littoral anti-surface warfare against targets close to land, the missile would receive shoreline data before launch; GPS guidance during the mid-course flight; and during the terminal phase of the attack the seeker would ‘blank’ land returns to acquire the target.