Australian P-8A Aircraft Fires First Harpoon Missile

The Royal Australian Air Force’s (RAAF) P-8A Poseidon aircraft has fired its first Harpoon missile ATM-84J Monday during Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) maritime exercise, the Australian Department of Defense (DoD) said in a statement.

According to the Australian DoD, the Harpoon struck its target USS Racine (LST-1191), a decommissioned Newport-class Landing Ship, which was placed 55 nautical miles north of the Hawaiian island of Kauai.

Minister for Defence, Senator the Hon Marise Payne said “the Harpoon is integral to the P-8A reaching full operational capability. Our partnership with the United States Navy has allowed us access to the Range Facility, a long standing agreement which has seen the successful testing of many Australian Defence Force weapons systems  across both Air Force and Navy.”

Australia has committed to purchasing 12 P-8A Poseidon aircraft, which will replace the ageing fleet of P-3C Orion aircraft.

Exercise RIMPAC 18 is the world’s largest multinational maritime exercise, with 25 nations participating.