There is deep concern in the Israeli defence establishment as the ministry of defence has not yet allocated funds for the full development of the Sky Sonic air defence system that is designed to intercept hypersonic missiles.
It was a year ago that Israeli company Rafael, a state owned defence company, started to develop the unique interceptor with its own funds. The company expected the ministry of defence to fund the full scale development of the system. The Israeli ministry of defence and Rafael declined to comment on the issue.
According to Rafael , the Sky Sonic interceptor represents a major technological leap in hypersonic missile defence. The interceptor is designed with exceptional maneuverability and high-speed capabilities, enabling it to effectively neutralize hypersonic missiles, which travel at ten times the speed of sound, with unmatched precision and stealth.
Over the past years, the threat posed by hypersonic missiles has escalated, necessitating proactive measures to safeguard national security. Rafael has developed the Iron Dome and David’s Sling air defence systems and is now developing the Iron Beam laser-based system.
Hypersonic missiles encompass a new family of threats, including hypersonic atmospheric cruise missiles, gliders, and cruisers that travel at incredible speeds while maintaining exceptional accuracy and maneuverability. Unlike ballistic missiles, hypersonic missiles have the ability to change their course mid-flight. Consequently, a successful defence against hypersonic threats requires a multifaceted approach that involves not only countering their speed but also effectively tracking, detecting, and intercepting their unpredictable flight paths.
Rafael revealed that the new interceptor will use the national early warning systems serving the other systems of the Israeli multi-tiered system against rockets and ballistic missiles. It also confirmed that the Sky Sonic will intercept either by kinetic kill or by a proximity fuse that will activate the special warhead. The U.S missile defence agency has been briefed on the new systems.
Israel will have to upgrade its multi-tiered missile defence systems to cope with new threat posed by the Iranian hypersonic missiles. The Fattah hypersonic ballistic missile was presented by the IRGC of Iran on June 6, 2023. The missile has some distinct qualities; according to Israel senior experts, it is a hypersonic missile. The status of the program is not clear and experts believe it is being flight tested prior to initial deployment.
According to Tal Inbar, an Israeli senior analyst, the Fattah missile diameter is about 1 meter. The missile, according to Inbar, is about 15.3 m long. The expert added that the missile has a takeoff weight of appr 12 tons, including nearly 9-ton of propellants. The Israeli expert said that the reentry vehicle (RV) weighs 1 ton and the warhead 350 to 450 Kg. The missile uses a guidance and navigation systems based on INU and GNSS (GPS & GLONASS).
The missile’s first stage is based on (or identical to) the Khaibar Shekan missile. The Reentry Vehicle (RV) has a sturdy rocket motor similar to the kick motor used in satellite launchers, the Arash-24. An electrically steerable nozzle is part of this motor. For controlling the missile throughout the boost and reentry phases of flight, the RV includes four steering fins.
According to the Israeli expert, Iran is probably the first country in the world to implement a rocket motor into a hypersonic RV. “On the other hand, the concept of utilizing small rocket motor in an RV is not new in the Iranian designs.” Inbar said that the development of such hypersonic, long-range, strike missile requires performing set of ground and flight tests. “One might assume that they experienced some setbacks and failures along the development phase, although none were published,” he added.
Russia is also developing a hypersonic missile and there are indications that it was ued in Ukraine. Israeli analysts say that there is clear forensic evidences that suggest that during the missile attack on Feb. 7 this year, Russian forces used a 3M22 Zircon missile to strike a target in Ukraine’s capital city, Kyiv. According to Tal Inbar and Yair Ramat, two senior analysts, the photos of wreckage found in Kyiv indicates that this was probably the first operational shot of the ZIRCON hypersonic cruise missile in a sea to ground mode.
The Zircon is a Hypersonic cruise missile, developed by the “Scientific Production Association of Machine Building” (NPO Mashinostroyeniya). It uses a solid booster and a Scramjet engine. The max range is 1,000 km. while the warhead weights about 300 Kg.
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