As Hezbollah continues to threaten Israel’s gas rigs, the Israeli Navy and the Defense Ministry’s Directorate of Research and Development (MAFAT) successfully tested the Gabriel 5 surface-to-surface missile.
The Israel Aerospace Industries short-range cruise missile is co-developed with Singapore’s ST Engineering defense company and marketed by joint venture company Proteus Advanced Systems.
The fifth-generation surface-to-surface missile also known as Blue Spear is designed to strike targets in contested, congested, and complex scenarios even when dealing with sophisticated countermeasures.
According to the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, the “complex test” of the missile was carried out in August and part of a series of tests for the Navy’s new Saar 6 missile ships. The INS Oz participated in the test, which also evaluated the ship’s abilities to deal with various threats with new weapons systems like the Gabriel 5.
“The advanced missile ensures the advantage of the Navy and the preservation of the IDF’s naval superiority, and will be used by the Navy in its missions, including the protection of the strategic assets of the State of Israel,” the statement said.
The system has combined anti-ship and land attack capabilities with a range of 290km at high sub-sonic speed. It has beyond the line of sight strike capabilities and can strike both mobile or stationary targets.
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