Israel Successfully Tests The ‘Gabriel V’ Anti-Ship Missile
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced the successful testing of the Gabriel V, the Israeli Navy’s latest generation anti-ship missile. The test was conducted in August, with the Israeli Navy and the Defense Ministry’s Administration for the Development of Weapons and Technological Infrastructure taking part. INS Oz, the second of the Israeli Navy’s new Sa’ar 6-class corvettes, conducted the launch test to “see how the ship can deal with different threats using new and advanced weapons,” according to the Israel Defense Forces.
The Israeli Navy also announced in February 2022 that it had successfully tested the C-Dome system, the naval variant of the Iron Dome air defense missile system, against a number of targets by successfully integrating it into a Sa’ar-6 corvette. The first of four corvettes of its class built by German company Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems, INS Magen, served in the first live fire tests of the C-Dome system.
“The Navy continues to develop and change in the face of a variety of increasing operational challenges and regional changes,” said Israeli Navy Commander Brigadier General Guy Goldfarb, adding that the Gabriel missile system will “strengthen the operational and defensive capabilities of the Navy,” According to IAI CEO Boaz Levy, “the integration of these capabilities into Sa’ar 6 represents a significant breakthrough in the field of naval warfare for the protection of the State of Israel’s strategic assets.”
The fifth-generation Gabriel anti-ship missile was developed by IAI’s MBT Missiles Division and is the newest member of the Gabriel anti-ship missile family. The missile in question is an advanced precision weapon that can operate in all weather conditions, day and night, and can hit moving and fixed targets at sea beyond the line of sight. This missile can be launched from both ground and naval launch platforms. For many years, Israeli authorities withheld technical information and images regarding the missile from the press. However, Finland purchased this variant of the Gabriel missile in July 2018 for its Hamina-class and Pohjanmaa-class (Squadron 2020) ships, as well as a vehicle platform, lifting the veil of mystery on the Gabriel V anti-ship missile.
According to the Finnish Navy, the Gabriel V, which has a length of 5.5 meters and a weight of 1,250 kg, has a turbojet engine that allows subsonic speed and fuel tanks that provide a range of more than 200 kilometers. The missile has an active radar search head with advanced anti-interference features, all-weather capability, a wide search area, and good target discrimination, as well as a GPS/INS, multiple waypoints integrated navigation system. The missile has a penetrating warhead that uses active radar guidance for target detection via INS-based navigation.
The IAI Gabriel V anti-ship missile system, which will be the primary offensive weapon of the SA’AR 6 class corvettes, the country’s most advanced ship to date is designed to aid in responding to attacks on strategically important resources such as oil and natural gas production in the Mediterranean, which supply 80% of Israel’s energy needs, by Iran-backed Hezbollah and Hamas terrorist organizations based in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip. In addition to Gabriel, Israel’s new SA’AR 6 class ships will be equipped with 16 to 32 Barak 8 long-range air defense missiles, the C-Dome air defense system, 76mm Oto Melara main guns, and torpedo launchers.