Rafael unveils hypersonic missile interceptor

Ahead of this year’s Paris Air Show, which opens on Monday, an Israeli state-owned company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems He unveiled a new development in air defense: the SkySonic (Kela Had) system, designed to shoot down hypersonic missiles.

The threat from hypersonic missiles is more apparent than ever since the Russian invasion of Ukraine and Russia’s use of what it claims are hypersonic missiles, that is, missiles that fly many times the speed of sound. In 2018, Russia unveiled a hypersonic glider, a weapon carried into space on top of an intercontinental ballistic missile and then returned at very high speed to Earth, surfing on the shock wave generated by punches in the air.

In fact, the Russians were using the Kinzhal (Dagger) air-launched missile, which is a high-velocity weapon but not one that embodies any breakthrough technology. Iran also claims to have developed a hypersonic weapon, the Fattah, but in reality this is believed to be more of a ballistic missile with improved maneuverability than a hypersonic missile.

SkySonic has been in development for three years, since before Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year. Therefore, the system is at a fairly advanced stage and is expected to undergo flight tests soon. It has already been offered to the US Army, with the approval of the Department of Defense, with great enthusiasm.

Rafael is also responsible for developing the Iron Dome short-range missile defense system, which has been in operation for thirteen years. The iron beam system, which uses lasers to intercept incoming missiles, is slated to become operational soon. This system is more economical than Iron Dome, as it eliminates the need to use expensive interceptor missiles.

Hypersonic missiles or gliders combine the speed of ballistic missiles (or greater) with the maneuverability of the slower cruise missiles, making them very difficult to shoot down. Russia claims that there is no current or potential defense against its hypersonic weapon, and in fact no specific system for intercepting such weapons has been demonstrated. With SkySonic, Rafael is once again placing itself at the forefront of air defense in the world.

The interceptor is a two-stage missile. It has its own booster warhead, and is maneuverable to counter the maneuvers of the target missile.

“The SkySonic is very versatile and can intercept all types of hypersonic missiles,” said Rafael President Dr. Yuval Steinitz. “In light of our successes in this field, in which we are pioneers, there is reason to believe that we will be among the first and best in the world, if not the best, in dealing with hypersonic missiles.”

Steinitz added that Rafael’s backlog of orders exceeded NIS 40 billion for the first time. He said sales were rising rapidly, in part because of the opportunities presented by the war in Ukraine.

Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on June 15, 2023.

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