| AGM-84E Standoff Land Attack Missile | |
|---|---|
 An AGM-84E Standoff Land-Attack Missile being loaded onto anF/A-18C Hornet | |
| Type | Air-launched cruise missile |
| Place of origin | United States |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1990-2000 |
| Used by | U.S. Navy |
| Wars | Gulf War,Bosnian War |
| Production history | |
| Designer | McDonnell Douglas |
| Manufacturer | McDonnell Douglas |
| Unit cost | $720,000 |
| Produced | 1991 – 1995 |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 627 kg (1,382 lb) |
| Length | 4.50 m (14.8 ft) |
| Diameter | 34.3 cm (13.5 in) |
| Wingspan | 91.4 cm (3.00 ft) |
| Engine | Teledyne CAE J402-CA-400turbojet |
Operational range | >60 nmi (110 km; 69 mi)[1] |
| Maximum speed | 855 km/h (530 mph, 0.698 Mach)[1] |
Guidance system | Inertial navigation system Global Positioning System Infrared homing Datalink to the controllingaircraft |
Launch platform | Current: P-3 Orion Past: F/A-18C Hornet, S-3B Viking, A-6E SWIP Intruder |
TheAGM-84ESLAM (Standoff Land Attack Missile) was a subsonic, over-the-horizon air-launchedcruise missile that was developed byMcDonnell Douglas from theAGM-84 Harpoonanti-ship missile.[2] The SLAM was designed to provide all-weather, day and night, precision attack capabilities against stationary high-value targets[1] as well as ships in port.[3]
Except for new technologies in the guidance and seeker sections, which included aGlobal Positioning System receiver, a modified AGM-65FMaverick missile IIR Seeker, and a modifiedWalleyedatalink, all of the missile hardware came directly from theHarpoon missile.[4] SLAM missile uses aninertial navigation system, which is supplemented by Global Positioning System (GPS) input, and it also usesinfrared homing terminal guidance.[1] It could also be guided by any aircraft carrying the AN/AWW-9B and AN/AWW-13 datalink pods.[2] The missile however was unable to avoid terrain, meaning that to attack a target, there had to be no obstacles in the path of the missile.[5]
Developed in 48 months, three SLAMs were successfully employed during thePersian Gulf War, when they were used to strikeIraqi targets. These strikes, made exclusively by the fewA-6E SWIP Intruders assigned toVA-75 on theUSSJohn F. Kennedy (CV-67),[5] were before official operational testing of the new missile had begun.[6] Only five SLAMs were carried to the war, all on theKennedy.[7] They had also been only been recently moved to carrier.[8]
The first time the SLAM was used in combat came on January 18, 1991, when two SLAMs, fired two minutes apart, were launched by an A-6E SWIP Intruder from VA-75 towards a Hydro-electric plant north of Baghdad on theTigris River, specifically the power house and turbines.[9][7] This plant was targeted because it powered theAl-Qa'im superphosphate fertilizer plant (nicknamed 'Big Al'), known to produceyellowcake for uranium enrichment. The SLAMs were guided by anA-7E Corsair II fromVA-72 (also from theKennedy) via the use of a Datalink pod.[9][7][8][5]
Although GPS guidance could have done the job without the need of the Corsair II, the Navy need the Corsair II to allow the first SLAM to blast a hole, allowing the 2nd SLAM to fly through the hole and cause damage. The last SLAM used in the war was fired that same night against a dam known to generate electricity near Al Qa'im. The dam was reportedly disabled with that single hit.[7] The strike itself was also successful in that it enabled the Intruder to attack without entering the Missile Engagement Zone of Al-Qa'im.[8]
Several months after the Gulf War, the SLAM was officially approved for full production on June 28, 1991.[3]
The SLAM was also used duringNATOairstrikes inBosnia during operationsDeny Fly (1993-1995) andDeliberate Force (1995).[1] AnF/A-18C (N) Hornet fromVFA-151^ in February 1999 tested the SLAM's special GPS only guidance mode against a simulatedSA-10 radar van in a target complex located onSan Nicolas Island.[10][11]
In the year 2000, the SLAM was replaced in service by theAGM-84H SLAM-ER (Standoff Land Attack Missile Expanded Response), which had numerous new capabilities including increased target penetration and nearly twice the range of the older AGM-84E SLAM.[1]