“We are very pleased with the results from
last week's exercise," said Capt. Jaime Engdahl, the Navy's Precision
Strike Weapons program manager. "Having a 40-year plus legacy of
reliability and lethality, the Harpoon performed exactly as we had expected,
again proving our ability to launch from air and surface platforms and
effectively engage maritime targets."
This exercise gave Sailors the opportunity to employ the all-weather,
anti-ship missile and gain real-world proficiency in tactics, targeting
and live firing against surface targets, ultimately enhancing deployed
units’ combat readiness, he added.
Valiant Shield is a biennial event with 18,000 U.S. joint service
members working together over a period of eight days in the Marina
Islands range complex. More than 200 aircraft and 19 surface ships
participated in this year’s exercise focused on the Air-Sea
Battle concept, which addresses the anti-access/area denial military
challenges.
