Boeing contracted for Harpoon weapon production

WASHINGTON, Dec. 22 (UPI) -- Boeing has received a $207 million contract to produce Lot 90 Harpoon weapon systems and spares for the governments of Egypt, Korea, and Brazil.

The contract, which combines U.S. Navy purchases with foreign military sales, also includes components for the governments of Japan, Australia, Thailand, India, Oman, Taiwan, and the United Arab Emirates. Foreign military sales funds totaling $99.6 million were obligated at the time of the contract award.

Work on the contact will be performed in St. Charles, Mo.; McKinney, Texas; Burnley, Britain; and other locations. The U.S. Department of Defense says the contract was not competitively procured, and expects the work to be complete by March 2021.

The Harpoon is an all-weather anti-ship missile typically integrated with naval platforms. The missile uses a radar guidance system to attack surface ships, and can also be launched from submarines, shore batteries, or aircraft.

The weapon was initially developed for the U.S. Navy as a common anti-ship missile for its fleet, but has since been adopted by the U.S. Air Force and various other armed forces around the world.