The Standoff Land Attack Missile or SLAM is a subsonic,[1] over-the-horizon, all-weather standoff cruise missile which grew out of the United States Navy's Harpoon anti-ship missile in the 1970s.
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It is now difficult to see any visual similarities between the SLAM-ER and the Harpoon. However, the original SLAM very closely resembled the Harpoon because it shared most of its components with the Harpoon, despite being somewhat longer. This helped reduce development costs and allowed the system to be developed in 48 months. The original SLAM was developed at extremely short notice during the Gulf War to meet emergency requirements. A number of SLAMs were successfully fired at Iraqi coastal targets during the Gulf War. In fact, it was successfully employed by F/A-18 and A-6 aircrews in Desert Storm even before operational testing had begun.[1] The longer length of the original SLAM compared to Harpoon meant that it flew in a slightly nose-up attitude while approaching the target.
In its current incarnation, the SLAM-ER (Expanded Response), it is capable of attacking land and sea targets automatically, at long-range (155+ miles/250+ km), and can also be controlled remotely from the air. It relies on military-grade GPS and infrared imaging for navigation. It can strike both moving and stationary targets. It can be redirected to another target after launch if the original target has already been destroyed, or is no longer a priority.[2] SLAM-ER attained IOC in June 2000. It is extremely accurate, with the best CEP in the U.S. Navy.[1]
General Electric provides an Automatic Target Recognition Unit (ATRU)[3] which processes pre-launch and post-launch targeting data, allows high speed video comparison, and enables the SLAM-ER to be used in a true "fire and forget" manner. It also includes a "man-in-the-loop" mode, where the pilot/controller can designate the point of impact precisely, even if the target has no distinguishing infrared signature.[2] It can be launched and controlled by F-15, F/A-18, P-3 Orion and S-3 Viking.[2]
The cost of a single SLAM-ER is $500,000.[1]