The sea gods have answers to Ukraine’s prayers. The embattled country will receive two mobile Harpoon anti-ship missile launchers from the United States to aid in coastal defense against the Russian navy. This present is part of the latest one billion dollar military aid package from Washington to Kyiv announced June 15. The world is concerned that the Russian blockade of the Black Sea will stifle grain exports. The idea is for Russia to think twice about venturing too close to the shore or else risk losing another vessel to a ship-killing missile. Two land-based Neptune missiles were used to sink the Russian Slava-class cruiser Moskva on April 13.
Denmark Is also Feeling Generous With the Harpoon
The Danish government has also pledged to give a Harpoon-launcher and missiles, as it said on May 27. This was a donation that could help Ukraine eliminate naval vessels that are blockading commercial shipping to stymie grain shipments from Kyiv.
The Harpoon vehicle-mounted launchers are coming from the United States while allied countries will supply the missiles.
Can It Take On the Blockade?
An unnamed senior American defense official told the Jerusalem Post that the “Harpoon is intended for coastal defense. I think we’ve seen the negative impacts that the Russian blockade of the Black Sea has had and […] continued Ukrainian fears about Russia targeting Odesa and other critical ports around the Black Sea.”
Quick Capsule on the Harpoon
The Harpoon has been around since 1975. 30 countries field it and at least 7,000 have been produced over the years. The Harpoon saw its first major use case in 1980 during the Iran-Iraq war. It flies low to skim the water with active, inertial radar guidance in all-weather environments. Each missile costs around $1.65 million. However, it is subsonic flying only at 0.85 MACH. The penetrating warhead is 494 pounds, and the missile is nearly 13 feet long.
Wait a Minute, It May Take a While
Not all news is good for the Ukrainians. It could take several weeks if not months before the launchers get in-country. They have to be bought and shipped to Kyiv and later deployed to the Black Sea coast. Ukrainians will have to be trained on Harpoon use. The system will also need to be layered and integrated with the other Neptune anti-ship missiles. Harpoon launchers are usually not mounted on trucks. They typically fire from ships, so the truck-mounted capability is new and may have a learning curve before it is fully operational.
There Are Too Many International Arms Systems
My concern with all these military hardware transfers to Ukraine is that the friendly forces are becoming overwhelmed with the amounts of different weapon systems. The escalating number of drones and artillery systems, for example, creates training and maintenance hurdles for the defenders. Who supplies the spare parts when these systems break down? Technical controls and maintenance manuals are in other languages and not in Ukrainian or in Russian. 25 different countries have donated arms to Kyiv. To be sure, the Ukrainians are appreciative and quick learners, but it is not clear to what extent they can keep running weapon systems from other countries.
Maybe Friendly Forces Will Operate the Harpoon Without Problems
The Harpoon should be transferable without much of this friction as numerous nations have it in their arsenal, but there can still be mechanical problems with such an old system that the Ukrainians may not be able to fix on their own.
Too Many Bells and Whistles
The New York Times has even suggested that many Ukrainian military personnel do not know how to use their donated new weapons. “It’s like being given an iPhone 13 and only being able to make phone calls,” said Sergeant Dmytro Pysanka, a soldier in southern Ukraine.
This training gap should be a factor in what the West sends to Kyiv. The Harpoon may be used without problems, or it could be a system that mystifies the Ukrainians. It has potential to protect the homeland from enemy vessels and could be a factor in punching through the blockade, but allies should keep the number of different systems in mind before they transfer others without adequate training and plans to maintain the weapons.
Now serving as 1945’s Defense and National Security Editor, Brent M. Eastwood, PhD, is the author of Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare. He is an Emerging Threats expert and former U.S. Army Infantry officer. You can follow him on Twitter @BMEastwood.
