With Hypersonic Missiles, Israel’s F-35s Are Upping The Ante In Syria

Israel will soon have a new precision-guided supersonic stand-off missile for its F-35s and other fighter jets.

The new missile was announced on June 11, 2018 in a press release by two leading Israeli defense firms, Israeli Military Industries Systems (IMI Systems) and Israel Aerospace Industries, which jointly developed the missile. The so-called Rampage missile is a precision-guided air-launched stand-off missile with a range of about 90 miles (145 kilometers). With a length of 4.7 meters, the Rampage weighs 570 kilograms. According to press reports, it will carry a warhead of around 150 kilograms.

“The Rampage features optimal penetration capability into protected areas,” the companies said in the press release. “The targets that best fit the capabilities of the new rocket include communication and command centers, air forces bases, maintenance centers, infrastructures and valuable field targets protected by anti-air systems.” Its ability to penetrate difficult targets appears to come from a combination of different characteristics. As IHS Jane’s explains, these include the missile’s speed as well as its ability to be programmed to fly at different trajectories that confuse air defense systems, especially if the defense systems have to grapple with numerous different missiles.

MORE: https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/hypersonic-missiles-israels-f-35s-are-upping-ante-syria-87261