USMC  HAWK ASSOCIATION

HAWK MISSILE SYSTEM 

The HAWK surface to air missile system provides medium-range, low to medium altitude air defense against a variety of targets, including jet and rotary wing aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, and cruise missiles. This mobile, all-weather day and night system is highly lethal, reliable, and effective against electronic countermeasures. The Hawk was originally named for the predatory bird but later the name was turned into an acronym for "Homing All the Way Killer."

The HAWK system has provided US forces with low to medium altitude air defense for the past forty years. The Hawk System has been the Marine Corp's primary air defense since the early 1960's. Basic HAWK was developed in the 1950s and initially fielded in 1960. The system has been upgraded through a series of product improvements beginning with the Improved HAWK in 1970. The Phase III product improvement and the latest missile modification were first fielded in the early 1990s to the US Army and US Marine Corps (USMC). The system has maintained it's effectiveness against succeeding generations of high technology aircraft through periodic preplanned product improvement programs. An evolving system, HAWK is now in its Phase III configuration with research and development underway to obtain a tactical missile defense capability.

This success lead many NATO countries to adopt HAWK as a primary air defense weapon. Today, HAWK systems are in the arsenals of over fifteen countries, including most of NATO countries. In the coming years, HAWK will continue its prominent position by undergoing system upgrades to allow it to deal with the changing nature of the battlefield threat.

Although HAWK missile batteries were deployed by the U.S. Army during the conflicts in Vietnam and Persian Gulf, American troops have never fired this weapon in combat. The first combat use of HAWK occurred in 1967 when Israel successfully fired the missiles during the Six Day War with Egypt. Even though it was not used by the coalition during Operation Desert Storm, the HAWK missile did see action during the Persian Gulf War. Kuwaiti air defense units equipped with U.S. HAWK antiaircraft missiles downed about 22 Iraqi aircraft and one combat helicopter during the invasion of 2 August 1990.

ADDITIONAL HISTORY

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