Mumbai: McDonnell Douglas Corp, a subsidiary of Boeing, has received a $15.79-million contract to make 10 Harpoon anti-ship missiles for Pakistan, the Pentagon said.

Pakistan will use the missiles, to be supplied as part of a contract with the Naval Air Systems Command under the foreign military sales programme, with its P-3C maritime surveillance aircraft that are being refurbished to improve their attack capabilities and with its surface ships and submarines.

The contract is for 10 Harpoon Block II, grade B all-up-round missiles and an equal number of MK631 containers. The bulk of the work will be carried out in Missouri, and some parts will be executed in other parts of the US.

The Pentagon also announced the contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal. It had placed the value of the deal at $370 million.

The Harpoon Block II is an upgrade programme designed to improve the missile''s ability to attack targets in congested littoral areas, where nearby land masses and other ships can provide cover for targets.

Harpoon Block II missiles can be deployed from all platforms that have the Harpoon missile system by using existing command and launch equipment.

Last June, the Defence Security Cooperation Agency had informed US Congress about Pakistan''s request for an assortment of missiles, including the Harpoon Block II missiles, containers and missile modifications.

The Harpoon family includes air, sea/land, and submarine-launched versions of the GM-84 missile. Variants such as the land attack SLAM variant and the modern AGM-84K Joint Standoff Land Attack Missiles-Expanded Response (SLAM-ER) will also be covered in this DID FOCUS Article, which describes the missiles themselves and covers global contracts involving this family since October 1, 2006. The most recent addition involves an initial delivery of 10 Harpoon block II missiles to Pakistan.