As part of strengthening the naval capabilities of its allies, the U.S. Navy completed the delivery of the 300th Harpoon anti-ship missile, corresponding to Lot 91 production, a program primarily focused on Foreign Military Sales (FMS) for international partners.
The delivery, recently carried out under the multiyear agreement between the U.S. Navy and Boeing, marks a milestone within one of the longest-serving and most widely used weapons systems in the Western arsenal. The delivered units correspond to the Harpoon Block II variant, which incorporates GPS-assisted inertial navigation, allowing not only anti-ship missions but also strikes against land targets.
The program was managed by the Precision Strike Weapons office (PMS-201), which since the system’s introduction in 1977 has delivered nearly 6,000 Harpoon missiles in multiple configurations — air-launched, surface-launched, submarine-launched, and training versions — to more than 30 partner countries under the FMS framework.
This new milestone comes at a time when the Harpoon missile continues to be a central element in the maritime defense strategies of numerous U.S. allies. An example of this is its inclusion in recent military assistance packages, such as the provision of anti-ship missiles to Taiwan, considered a priority within the FMS program to strengthen its capabilities against threats in the Indo-Pacific.
Far from marking the end of the program, the delivery of the 300th missile coincides with progress in its modernization. The Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) confirmed on February 5, 2026, the completion of the third and final flight test of the Harpoon Block II Update (HIIU) program, whose last test took place on January 16 off the coast of California, validating improvements aimed at extending the system’s service life and updating critical components.
To complete these tests, an F-15SA fighter was used, which launched the missile at around 3,650 meters above the ground, after which the missile descended to an altitude of 1,520 meters to carry out most of its trajectory toward the target, which it struck accurately after performing a terminal maneuver with a steep dive angle.
These upgrades are intended to resolve obsolescence issues and maintain the Harpoon’s operational relevance in modern scenarios, where naval warfare demands greater precision, electronic resilience, and the ability to integrate with combat networks.
Over nearly five decades, the Harpoon has established itself as one of the most widely used anti-ship missiles worldwide, employed by naval and air forces across multiple regions. Its versatility, combined with constant upgrades, explains its continued role as a key element within the maritime defense architecture of the United States and its allies.
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