Israel Aerospace Industries showcased a new air-launched version of its LORA quasi-ballistic missile, simply named Air LORA, in early June. Israel has developed several air-launched ballistic missiles in recent years as a growing market for these relatively cheap but effective long-range, deep-strike weapons has emerged.
IAI exhibited a full-scale model of the Air LORA at the ILA Berlin Air Show 2024, held June 5-9. A company official told Janes that the air-launched missile has completed trials with the F-16 and will also be compatible with the Boeing P-8 Poseidon maritime aircraft.
The ground-launched version of the LORA has a purported range of up to 250 miles and was already used in combat by Azerbaijan in 2020. The air-launched version can carry blast-fragmentation or deep-penetration warheads, making it suitable for afflicting decisive damage against hardened strategic targets.
Israeli arms manufacturers have developed an assortment of similar missiles in recent years. In 2018, Israel Military Industries unveiled the Rampage missile. Like its Air LORA successor, the Rampage was also designed to destroy high-value enemy targets from the air at standoff ranges up to an estimated 186 miles.
As with the Air LORA, the Rampage is compatible with the F-16 and other advanced fourth-generation fighter types. And not just Western-built models. The air-launched ballistic missile was recently inducted by India’s air force and navy Russian-built Su-30MKI and MiG-29K fighter jets.
Britain is also considering buying some Rampage missiles to replace the stocks of air-launched Storm Shadow cruise missiles it sent to Ukraine. While the cost of the Rampage is unclear, it is believed to be less than $1 million per unit, much cheaper than the Storm Shadow’s $3 million price tag.
Aside from affordability, another selling point Israel may hope attracts buyers for missiles like the Air LORA and Rampage is their capability and survivability against strategic air defenses.
Israel’s first reported use of the Rampage was, perhaps unsurprisingly, against a missile factory and other weapons warehouses in Masyaf, Syria, on April 13, 2019, as part of its years-long air campaign against Iran-linked targets in that war-torn country.
Israel reportedly selected the Rampage for that particular strike, given the presence of an advanced long-range Russian S-300 in the vicinity. Israel needed a missile that it could safely fire from a standoff range. The Rampage fit the bill. Furthermore, while easy to detect, the missile’s supersonic speed makes it hard to intercept. It’s reported combat debut on that day was a success.
More recently, Israel demonstrated its capability to target an advanced variant of the S-300, Iran’s S-300PMU-2, using an air-launched ballistic missile.
On the morning of April 19, 2024, Israeli fighter jets, most likely flying over Iraq, fired ballistic missiles, scoring a direct hit against the radar of an Iranian S-300PMU-2 based deep in the country’s central Isfahan region. While Iran unsurprisingly downplayed the incident, which came less than a week after Tehran launched an unprecedented drone and missile barrage directly at Israel, it aptly demonstrated the capability of these missiles to hit strategic air defenses from long distances.
While speculation arose that Israel used a Rampage for that attack, the range and the emergence of debris inside Iraq, likely fuel booster units intentionally jettisoned mid-flight, led many analysts to conclude Israel used Blue Sparrow missiles. The Blue Sparrow purportedly has the 1,250-mile range necessary for launching such a strike from outside Iranian airspace.
Usage of the Blue Sparrow was an interesting and perhaps even ironic choice. Israel’s Sparrow series of air-launched missiles, which also consist of Black and Silver Sparrow missiles, were initially designed to simulate incoming ballistic missiles for testing Israeli air defenses.
Israel designed the Black Sparrow to simulate Scud missiles, like the ones Iraq fired at Israeli cities in 1991, and the Blue Sparrow to replicate Iranian Shahab missiles. So, if used in actual combat on April 19, Israel effectively took Iran’s most advanced Russian-built air defense system out of action using missiles designed to simulate Iran’s own offensive missiles.
Israel’s Rafael unveiled the Rocks air-launched ballistic missile at Aero India 2019. While Rafael emphasized its incorporation of “advanced technologies from the legacy Popeye and SPICE air-to-surface weapons,” analysts instantly noted that the missile body appeared to have been derived from the Black Sparrow, also produced by Rafael.
While Israel likely has a number of air-launched missiles capable of accurately striking enemy targets from over 1,000 miles away, it’s unlikely it will readily offer air-launched missiles with similar ranges up for export. While not a signatory of the Missile Technology Control Regime, Israel has declared its “unilateral commitment” to adhere to its recommended limitations on exports of certain missiles. The MTCR seeks to curb the proliferation of missiles and drones with ranges exceeding 190 miles and payloads heavier than 1,100 pounds.
Many of these missiles Israel’s various arms manufacturers have built for the export market roughly adhere to the MTCR limitations. And the Air LORA could, like the Rampage and Rocks preceding it, prove highly attractive for countries looking to improve their standoff capabilities for a considerably lower price than rival air-launched missiles currently on the market.
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