The Gabriel family of anti-ship weapons has remained prevalent in Israel’s defensive and offensive strategy since the 1973 Yom Kippur War.
The Israeli Navy’s “Gabriel 5” sea-to-sea missile just reached another milestone as it successfully completed an operational test launch. Designated by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) as the “most advanced” naval strike system across the globe, the missile will undoubtedly play a key role in the Jewish state’s offensive arsenal out at sea. The operational test was conducted collaboratively by the Israeli Navy, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI,) and the Defense Ministry’s Directorate of Defense Research & Development. According to an IDF press release, the missile was launched against a mock target simulating an adversarial warship as part of a military exercise.
Capt. A., chief of the Israeli Navy’s Weapons Department, said, “The success of this test marks a significant advancement in the Israeli Navy’s offensive capabilities, allowing us to optimally address threats in the maritime domain. Israeli Navy soldiers operated with great professionalism and precision, and the capabilities we tested and proved in this test are already being applied in combat across all arenas, providing our forces with a substantial operational advantage.”
What we know about the Gabriel missile family
Israel has fielded the Gabriel family of missiles for over five decades. This family of short-range, sea, ground, and air-launched anti-ship weapons has remained prevalent in Israel’s defensive and offensive strategy since the 1973 Yom Kippur War. The Gabriel 1 was first deployed during the Battle of Latakia and played an instrumental role in defeating Syrian ships armed with the Soviet-designed P-15 missile. The Gabriel 1’s effectiveness led to Israel investing in subsequent variants. Gabriel Mk 2 was developed by the mid-1970s and has a longer range and a single high explosive semi-armor piercing warhead. Israel made further improvements to the Gabriel’s guidance system when designing the Mk3 variant. An air-launched version, the Mk 3AS, was also developed and notably launched from aircraft including the A-4 Sky Hawk and F-4 Phantom. The Mk 5 “Advanced Surface Attack Missile” has the greatest range of the Gabriel series, estimated to be between 200-400km.
Introducing the Gabriel 5 sea-to-sea missile
The latest Gabriel 5 missile possesses even greater capabilities than its predecessors. Able to strike targets more than 124 miles away regardless of weather conditions, this variant will be useful for Israel to maintain its naval dominance in the region. The Defense Post detailed additional known specs and capabilities surrounding the Gabriel 5, including its new warhead which can reportedly neutralize a vast array of maritime threats like adversarial warships. The outlet also noted that the missile is equipped with an active radar seeker with sophisticated anti-jamming capabilities. Since the missile does not travel straight when launched toward a target, it is very difficult for an enemy’s interceptor’s radar or optical system to locate and take out.
As tensions between Israel and Iran’s regional proxy groups continue to escalate, Israel will continue to prioritize the maintenance of its existing superior arsenal and the output of new technologies like the Gabriel sea-to-sea missile.
About the Author: Maya Carlin
Maya Carlin, National Security Writer with The National Interest, is an analyst with the Center for Security Policy and a former Anna Sobol Levy Fellow at IDC Herzliya in Israel. She has by-lines in many publications, including The National Interest, Jerusalem Post, and Times of Israel. You can follow her on Twitter: @MayaCarlin. Carlin has over 1,000 articles published over the last several years on various defense issues.
Image: By Clandestine Immigration and Navy Museum, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons.
