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The US Navy is taking delivery of the Orbital ATK AGM-88E Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided
Missile. The weapon is seen here being test-launched from a McDonnell Douglas/Boeing F/A18D Hornet multi-role combat aircraft © US Navy
ARMs Race
2015 marks the fortieth anniversary of the first use in combat of an AntiRadiation Missile (ARM). Interest in the weapons is high, with legacy designs
experiencing a make-over and new products entering the market place.
Thomas Withington
D
esigned to home in on the
transmissions of hostile groundbased air surveillance radars,
the Texas Instruments AGM45A/B family of air-to-surface ARMs
received its combat debut courtesy of United
States’ Navy (USN) McDonnell Douglas
A-4A/B/C Skyhawk Multi-Role Combat
Aircraft (MRCA) during the United States’
involvement in the Vietnam War between
1965 and 1975. The weapon was designed
to intercept Soviet Fan Song S-band
and C-band (2.3-2.5/2.7-3.7 gigahertz/
GHz and 5.25-5.925GHz) ground-based
target tracking and fire control radars
accompanying the S-75 Dvina high-altitude
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Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) systems
supplied to the North Vietnamese Air Force
(NVAF) from April 1965.
An S-75 Dvina claimed its first
victim, a United States Air Force (USAF)
McDonnell Douglas F-4C Phantom air
superiority fighter, on 24 July 1965. The
response of the United States military
was to launch Operation IRON HAND,
a combined USAF and USN initiative
intended to degrade and destroy NVAF
ground-based air defences. The first strike
to this end would be performed on 7
October 1965 when four A-4Es from the
USS Independence ‘Forrestal’ class aircraft
carrier located and destroyed an S-75
site at Kép airbase, northwest of the then
capital of North Vietnam, Hanoi.
ARM development has continued
since the utilisation of the AGM-45A/B
during the Vietnam War. Arguably the
most famous ARM is Raytheon’s AGM88D/F High-Speed Anti-Radiation Missile,
better known as the ‘HARM’. Since 1965,
the AGM-45A/B had been the mainstay
of the USAF and USN ARM capability,
alongside the General Dynamics AGM-78
Standard ARM, which had entered USAF/
USN service in 1968. However, on 24
March 1986, the Texas Instruments (now
Raytheon) AGM-88A was used for the
first time in combat against a Libyan Air
seeker which could be reprogrammed to
to counter the so-called ‘shut down’
home in on new radar threats as and when
tactic where a radar operator detecting
discovered. The AGM-88B, in production
an incoming ARM homing in on their
from 1987 improved the missile’s
RF transmissions deactivates their radar
computer hardware, and included the
transmissions so as to cause the missile to
AGM-88A Block-II RF seeker. An upgrade
lose its target lock. The addition of GPS
to the AGM-88B occurred in 1990, re- “enables the weapon to strike targets which
designating the weapon as the AGM-88B
are not emitting,” says Dewey Holmes,
Block-III. From 1993, the AGM-88C
Raytheon’s HARM programme manager.
became operational which overhauled the
Moreover, the missile can be programmed
weapon’s explosive charge, adding 12800
with GPS coordinates to indicate areas
tungsten alloy fragments to ruin a radar
through which it is not permitted to
antenna’s day, along with improvements
fly, with these GPS coordinates inserted
to the weapon’s guidance system and
into the missile prior to launch, Mr.
ability to attack targets of opportunity;
Holmes continues. Setting geographical
the latter improvement took the form of
parameters for the missile will help to
the AGM-88C Block-IV software upgrade. reduce collateral damage. On 28 April
Further software improvements adorned 1999, during Operation ALLIED FORCE,
the AGM-88C Block-V/AGM-88B Block- the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation’s
III (see above) upgrade.
(NATO) air campaign to expel Serbian
Despite being almost three decades
military and Special Police units from the
since its first use in combat (see above), Balkans province of Kosovo, an AGM-88
the AGM-88 family shows no signs of
of an unknown variant, reportedly hit
obsolescence. The latest upgrade of the
a house in the suburbs of the Bulgarian
missile sees it re-designated as the AGM- capital Sofia, fortunately causing no
88F. This initiative takes existing AGM- injuries. The missile had been targeted
88C Block-IV missiles and adds the ability
against a Serbian Air Force and Air
to strike targets according to their GPS
Defence force ground-based surveillance
(Global Positioning System) coordinates
radar of an unknown type.
via the insertion of the HARM Control
Raytheon declined to provide any
Section Modification (HCSM) package. details as to whether the RF seeker of the
The addition of GPS enables the missile AGM-88F has received any improvements.
Force Soviet-supplied 5N62 Square Pair
target acquisition and fire control radar
accompanying an NPO Almaz S-200
Angara long-range SAM system located
on the coast of the Gulf of Sidra, on the
southern Mediterranean Sea. The AGM88A was a qualitative improvement on the
AGM-45A/B and AGM-78. Whereas the
AGM-45A/B and AGM-78 had respective
ranges of 22nm (40km) and 49nm (90km),
the AGM-88A could reach targets at 80nm
(150km) range.
Since its combat debut, the AGM88A has been continually redeveloped
through several variants. The AGM-88A
Block-II added a Radio Frequency (RF)
Entering service in the mid-1980s, and used in anger for the first time on 24 March 1986,
Raytheon’s AGM-88 family of High-Speed Anti-Radiation Missiles already has several years
of combat experience under its belt © US Navy
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While the US Navy is taking delivery of the AGM-88E weapon,
the US Air Force is receiving the Raytheon AGM-88F missiles
equipped with the HARM Control Section Modification
designed to counter the radar ‘shut down’ tactic © USAF
Although it would be surprising if it has
not. The United States and allied militaries
face emerging ground-to-air threats in
the form of the Russian Almaz-Antey
S-300VM and S-400 Triumf high-altitude
SAM system and the China Precision
Machinery Import-Export Corporation
HQ-9 medium-to-high altitude SAM
system, all of which use a myriad of radars
yet to be encountered in combat.
The AGM-88F upgrade is being
performed for the USAF which employs
the AGM-88C Block-IV onboard its
Lockheed Martin F-16CJ Viper Weasel
SEAD (Suppression of Enemy Air
Defence) aircraft equipped with the Texas
Instruments (now Raytheon) AN/ASQ213A/R7 HARM Targeting System (HTS).
The AN/ASQ-213R7 version of the ‘vanilla’
AN/ASQ-213A HTS adds the capability
to use ‘dumb’ bombs with weaponsmounted precision guidance equipment
such as Boeing’s GBU-31/32/35/38/54
Joint Direct Attack Munition kits. The
AN/ASQ-213R7 has a GPS receiver to
this end which supply coordinates to
these munitions and also, presumably, to
the AGM-88F, alongside its traditional
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role of detecting hostile ground-based
air surveillance radar transmissions and
providing fire control for the ARM. By
2010, all USAF AN/ASQ-213A pods had
been upgraded to AN/ASQ-213R7 status.
Raytheon received a contract for the
Full Rate Production (FRP) of the AGM88F in November 2012 worth $12.3 million,
with a second FPR contract worth $14
million awarded in June 2013. Deliveries
of these missiles produced under these
two FRP contracts commenced in the
second quarter of 2014, according to Mr.
Holmes, and will conclude by the end of
this year. Before the end of 2015, a final
AGM-88F flight test is expected to be
performed at the USAF Utah Test and
Training Range in the western United
States. Only the USAF is receiving the
AGM-88F, although Mr. Holmes concedes
that there has been some interest in
the weapon from undisclosed foreign
militaries. Additional upgrades may yet
occur, particularly to extend the missiles’
range to an undisclosed distance, Mr.
Holmes adds, with the USAF planning
to maintain the missile in service until
around 2035.
I AARGM
The United States’ other AGM-88 family
user is the USN. This service is pursuing its
own AGM-88B/C enhancement in form of
the AGM-88E Advanced, Anti-Radiation
Guided Missile (AARGM). Orbital ATK is
leading this initiative. The missile will outfit
the Aeronautica Militaire (Italian Air Force)
Panavia Tornado-ECR SEAD aircraft (for
which the company says the missile will
reach Initial Operational Capability in
2016) and in US service, the AGM-88E
outfits the McDonnell Douglas/Boeing
F/A-18C/D Hornet and Boeing F/A-18E/F
Super Hornet Multi-Role Combat Aircraft
(MRCA), and Boeing E/A-18G Growler
electronic warfare platforms used by the
USN and US Marine Corps. Bill Kasting,
vice president and general manager of
Orbital ATK’s defence electronic systems
group, says that the AGM-88E is being
certified by the USN at the time of writing
(mid-June 2015) for its E/A-18G aircraft.
The company notes that the weapon is
also designed to equip General Dynamics/
Lockheed Martin F-16 and McDonnell
Douglas/Boeing F-15 family Multi-Role
Combat Aircraft (MRCA).
Anti-Radiation Missiles (ARM) are now a staple of modern air operations since their
combat debut during the US involvement in the Vietnam War. This picture shows a
radar’s last few moments as it is attacked by an ARM © US DoD
The AGM-88E uses the existing motor
and airframe of the AGM-88B/C, but adds
a new guidance system, plus enhanced
control systems. Regarding the guidance
system, it contains a millimetre wave radar
which is an used to identify and terminally
guide on the RF target even if it is shut
down. Another counter ‘shut down’ tactic
is the addition of a GPS receiver to the
weapon, alongside its RF seeker, to enhance
accuracy and to neutralise the shut down
tactic. Updated target information can be
transmitted from the launching aircraft to
the AGM-88E via the missiles’ Integrated
Broadcast System Receiver. One important
aspect of the AGM-88E is that it does
not require the employment of the AN/
ASQ-213A/R7 (see above), as the weapon
effectively acts as its own targeting pod
detecting hostile RF transmissions.
The AGM-88E entered Low-Rate
Initial Production (LRIP) following the
award for a contract to this effect by the
US Department of Defence (DoD) in
December 2009. Deliveries of all three
production lots associated with the LRIP
contract were completed in December
2013. Mr. Kasting says that the AGM-88E
is in FRP for the USN and Italian Air Force.
The firm completed deliveries of the first
FRP contract, awarded in September
2012, in May 2016, although a “handful of
units” for the Italian Air Force which are
included in this production contract will
be delivered by the third quarter of this
year. Deliveries of missiles included in
the second production contract, awarded
in September 2013, will be completed
by the end of 2016. A third production
contract was awarded as of August 2014,
with deliveries expected to commence
in the first quarter of 2016, and conclude
by December 2016, Mr. Kasting continues.
He adds that Orbital ATK is currently
Superior Mobility under Protection
COBRA II
APV
COBRA
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TULPAR
ARMA 6X6
ARMA 8X8
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off the air by discouraging operators from
activating their equipment. Open sources
state that the weapon can loiter for several
hours in the area of operations, and it
has a range of circa 270nm (500km). Harpy
is launched from the ground and in Israeli
service is used by that country’s air force,
plus the armies of the People’s Republic
of China (PRC), India, the Republic of
Korea and Turkey.
According to an IAI source, Harpy has
been produced in two distinct variants,
the latest of which appeared a decade
ago. This latter version has undisclosed
improvements in terms of range and
performance compared to the original
system. The IAI source continued that
Harpy has never been tested as an airlaunched weapon, adding that “there
is some capability to launch it from an
aircraft, but we have not tried it like that
because we see no potential to this end.”
I MAR-1
Israel Aerospace Industries has taken a different approach with their Harpy anti-radar missile
which is ground-launched, and designed to loiter in the target area waiting for a radar to be
activated before homing in on the radar’s transmissions © IAI
in negotiations with the US DoD for
the FRP Lots 4 and 5 for deliveries in
2017 and 2018.
Alongside the Italian Air Force and the
USN, Mr. Kasting adds that the company is
in discussions with the Luftwaffe (German
Air Force) regarding the supply of AGM88Es to equip that force’s Tornado-ECR
aircraft. However, any purchase “is not
expected to materialise for a couple of
years”. Nevertheless, on 22 June the US
State Department announced approval for
the export of 14 AGM-88B (see above) and
16 AGM-88E weapons, along with training
rounds and spare parts for $69 million to
Australia. Regarding future developments
of the AGM-88E, Mr. Kasting adds that “the
US Navy has recently implemented funding
support in the 2016 President’s Budget
request for an Extended Range variant
known as AARGM-ER. This development
effort is scheduled to commence in 2016
and field improved capability in the
2020 timeframe.” The AARGM-ER is
understood to be compatible with the
Lockheed Martin F-35A/B/C Lightning-II
MRCA internal weapons carriage.
the Six Day War of 1965, the Yom Kippur
War of 1973 and Operation PEACE FOR
GALILEE in Lebanon in 1982. The need
to suppress hostile air defences in its
hostile locale encouraged Israel Aerospace
Industries (IAI) to develop the Harpy
loitering munition. Unlike other weapons
examined in this article Harpy is a single
use Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)
outfitted with a 15 kilogram (32lb) high
explosive warhead. Several weapons can be
launched to loiter in an area of operations.
As soon as one detects a hostile radar, it
homes in on the RF emissions, destroying
it. Conversely, the ability to deploy several
Harpies simultaneously means that they
can hold radars at risk simply by loitering
in the area of operations, keeping the radars
Like Harpy, Mectron’s MAR-1 ARM is
shrouded in mystery. Development of the
weapon was thought to have commenced
in the late-1990s according to publicly
available sources. These same sources claim
that flight tests commenced in December
2008. The weapon is said to have a range of
54nm (100km) and is capable of detecting
and homing on radars transmitting in the
800 megahertz to 20GHz range, allowing
it to engage most ground-based early
warning, air surveillance and fire control
radars. In Força Aérea Brasileira (FAB/
Brazilian Air Force) service, the MAR-1
is believed to be operational onboard the
AMX International A-1M ground attack
aircraft and the Northrop Grumman
F-5EM Tiger-II MRCA. Interestingly, in
December 2008, Brazil agreed to provide
the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) with 100
MAR-1 missiles for $108 million. These are
thought to have been integrated onboard
I Harpy
Like the United States, Israel is no stranger
to air campaigns involving formidable
hostile air defences as witnessed during
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Earlier last decade, MBDA examined the possibility of developing
an anti-radar variant of its Meteor beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile. However, this has
not seemingly progressed to the development stage © MBDA
For now, Europe’s anti-radar capabilities rest upon the Tornado-ECR aircraft of the
Luftwaffe (German Air Force) pictured here, and their Italian counterparts. These German
aircraft may receive the AGM-88E weapon in the future © USAF
the PAF’s Dassault Mirage-IIIO ROSE-I
(Retrofit of Strike Element-I) MCRAs and
Mirage-5F ROSE-II/III MRCAs. In 2011,
it was reported that the missile was being
integrated onboard the PAF’s Pakistan
Aeronautical Complex/Chengdu Aircraft
Corporation JF-17 Block-I Thunder
MRCAs. Furthermore, it was revealed this
April that the MAR-1 will be integrated
onboard the 36 Saab JAS-39E/F Gripen
MRCA which Brazil signed a contract to
acquire in October 2014.
I Russian Efforts
Russia’s principle ARM is the Tactical
Missiles Corporation Kh-31P air-tosurface missile. Entering service in 1988,
the weapon is capable of outfitting a range
of Russian MRCAs and ground attack
aircraft. With a range of 60nm (110km),
the weapon destroys radar with a 87kg
(192lb) warhead. The missile can be
factory-equipped with three distinct RF
seekers (L-111, L-112 and L-113) which
allow it to engage radars operating across
a variety of undisclosed frequency bands.
Entering production in 2012, the Kh-31PD
has an undisclosed modest range increase,
while the Kh-31PM extends the range of
the Kh-31PD still further and consolidates
the three separate RF seekers of the Kh31P/PD into a single seeker (L-130) which
has improved resistance to electronic
countermeasures. Trials of the Kh-31PM
commenced in circa 2006, although it has
not been revealed when this version of the
missile entered production.
Other Kh-31P variants include the
KR-1 exported to the PRC from 1997
which is equipped with a single S-band RF
seeker intended to detect the Chungshan
Institute of Science and Technology
Chang Bai ground-based air surveillance
and fire control radar used in conjunction
with the Sky Bow-I/II medium-altitude
air defence system developed by the same
company and in service with the Republic
of China Army. The KR-1 missiles
exported to the PRC would later form the
basis of the Hongdu Aviation Industry’s
YJ-91 ARM which entered service with
the People’s Liberation Army Air Force
in the late-1990s. Compared to the KR-1,
this weapon has a longer range of 65nm
(120km) compared to the 59nm (110km)
of the KR-1. Moreover, it can be equipped
with field-changeable rather than factoryinstalled RF seekers.
In Russian Air Force service, the Kh31P family of ARMs is reinforced by
the Raduga NPO Kh-58 ARM family.
Entering service in 1982 with the Soviet
Air Force, the Kh-58 has been cycled
through several versions. The missile was
originally intended to equip the Sukhoi
Su-24M ground attack aircraft. The Kh58U version extends the missile’s range
from 86nm (160km) for the Kh-58 to
130nm (250km) for the Kh-58U. Export
versions include the Kh-58E, which
appeared in 1991, and the Kh-58EM
which became available in the mid-1990s.
Seeker improvements were rolled out
onto the Kh-58UShE which equips the
missile’s with a single (as opposed to four
on legacy versions) RF seeker which, open
sources report, could include a frequency
spread of one to eleven gigahertz, while
the Kh-58UShKE outfitted the Kh58UShE with folding fins to provide semiconformal configuration for the missile
when carried by its launching aircraft.
The latter version is expected to outfit the
Russian Air Force’s forthcoming Sukhoi
T-50 fifth-generation MRCA. Production
of the Kh-58UShKE is expected to
commence this year.
I ARM-Less
Keen-eyed readers may have noted the
lack of discussion regarding European
ARMs. The reason for this is simple; there
are currently none. The Royal Air Force
retired its BAE Systems/MBDA ALARM
(Air-Launched Anti-Radiation Missile)
in 2013 after it was believed to have been
used for a final time during the United
Kingdom’s contribution to the NATO’s
Operation UNIFIED PROTECTOR
combined air and sea campaign in Libya
in 2011. For now, Europe’s only ARM
capability remains the AGM-88 family
(see above) used by the Italian and
German air forces. According to sources
at MBDA, last decade the company held
some internal discussions regarding the
possible adaptation of its Meteor beyond
visual range air-to-air missile for the antiradar mission. These discussions are not
thought to have progressed beyond a small
number of presentations detailing this as
a possible future mission for the weapon.
For now, Europe’s ARM capabilities
remain the USN and USAF, and the hope
that they will bring their AGM-88 series
weapons to suppress hostile air defences
during any future air campaign involving
the continent and Uncle Sam.
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