Harop Loitering Munition

The Harop (also known as HARPY 2) is an autonomous loitering munition developed by Israel Aerospace Industries that combines the ISR persistence of a drone with the terminal lethality of an anti-radiation missile. Unlike most loitering munitions that require continuous operator-in-the-loop control, the Harop is designed to autonomously detect, track, and attack radar-emitting air defense systems using passive radio frequency homing — it will circle a target area for up to nine hours searching for radar emissions, then dive and destroy the emitter with its 23 kg warhead. Critically, an operator can abort the attack at any stage, allowing the Harop to return to search or be recalled.

The Harop achieved global attention during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, where Azerbaijan used it alongside TB2s to systematically destroy Armenian air defense networks — S-300 batteries, Buk-M2s, and OSA systems — with devastating effect, demonstrating how loitering munitions can suppress air defenses at operational scale. India has acquired the Harop as part of a 2009 deal and has significantly expanded its holdings. The Harop represents a paradigm of 'loyal wingman' strike: autonomous enough to loiter and search, but with a human able to interrupt the terminal phase.