Tel Aviv: The results achieved by some advanced air launched ballistic missiles (ALBM), used to attack Iranian targets are accelerating the Israeli efforts to develop more versions of air launched ballistic missiles (ALBM). Details are highly classified but sources here say that the results achieved by using these missiles in last April attack against targets in Iran are in ”high priority”.
According to the JSTOR website, an ALBM’s compressed flight time provides an option to strike targets that are only visible for short windows of time, namely ones that are highly mobile or concealable.
”Most likely, a defender may not be able to determine whether a tactical fighter is on a strike mission and potentially carrying an aero-ballistic missile before the missile is fired. A defender facing these capabilities is presented with a battlespace in which any of dozens or hundreds of tactical fighters may be capable of precision attacks against defended targets from considerable standoff ranges,” it said.
Israel has not released information about the ALBM’s used to attack the Iranian targets including the three Russian made S-300 air defence systems but there are two such missiles that were exposed. – The AIR LORA made by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and ROCKS made by Rafael.
According to IAI, the Air Lora, a member of the LORA combat-proven family, addresses the special operational challenges of an air launched long range strike. The missile was developed for missions against high-value, well-protected targets such as command centres, air force bases, critical infrastructure, and naval vessels in dense littorals.
Equipped with either Blast Fragmentation or Deep Penetration warheads, AIR LORA is optimised for stand-off range accuracy, capable of striking targets with supersonic velocity within minutes. AIR LORA strikes target with precision, minimising collateral damage and maximising mission success.
AIR LORA’s integration, training and ease of use is designed to ensure the most rapid initial operational capabilities (IOC) for an Air to Ground Missile. AIR LORA can be seamlessly integrated into any aircraft as a stand-alone configuration or through existing avionics systems. It features fire-and-forget and autonomous operation, making it easy to train and deploy.
The missile’s advanced INS/GPS navigation and robust GNSS anti-jamming capabilities, together with supersonic speed and maximal attack angle ensure high survivability and mission success in contested environments and extreme weather conditions.
According to IAI, AIR LORA empowers Air Forces with new offensive capabilities, enabling aircraft to remain at safe stand-off distances, unexposed to enemy defences, while achieving high-precision strikes. Its ability to adapt to changing target locations and its advanced guidance systems make it a vital asset in modern aerial strike missions.
As per the company, the newest member of the LORA family is a game-changer in Air to Ground Missile technology, providing accurate, and survivable attack capabilities. It addresses all the critical requirements of contemporary aerial warfare, ensuring mission success while minimising risks and collateral damage.
According to an official Rafael release, the ROCKS is a new generation extended stand-off range air-to-surface missile designed to strike high-value stationary and relocatable targets in a GPS-denied arena.
Equipped with either a penetration or blast fragmentation warhead, the missile can destroy above-ground or well protected underground targets in heavily surface-to-air defended areas.
According to the Israeli company, the pilot allocates a mission for the missile before release. The mission includes target coordinates, impact angle and azimuth, topographic imagery data, and fuse delays.
ROCKS is released well outside of the surface-to-air defended area, and performs a high-velocity trajectory to minimise attrition of both launching aircraft and missile, providing high target kill success. The missile uses its INS/GPS for conducting its midcourse trajectory. Homing, up to target destruction, is performed by using its scene-matching technology or Anti-Radiation capability, overcoming any GPS jamming scenario.
The detection of an ALBM is more complicated compared to a ground launched ballistic missile, remarked an Israeli senior expert.
“This type of missile does not have the predictable trajectory that a ground launched missile has and therefore its detection is more complicated. At the same time, there is another factor that must be considered – ALBM’s are launched from aircraft, these use air fields that are primary targets for the enemy. So, relying only on ALBM’s is a mistake,” he added.
-The writer is an Israel-based freelance journalist. The views expressed are of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of Raksha Anirveda
