Rafael Advanced Defense Systems has unveiled a new precision missile that can be launched from ships at sea or ground-based launchers and hit targets at a distance of up to 300 kilometers.
Called “Seabreaker” the missile is a naval and artillery unit “force multiplier, designed to overcome the challenges of the modern warfare arena,” Rafael said in a statement.
The four-meter-long missile weighs less than 400 kilograms and flies at high subsonic speeds towards its target. With infrared homing and automatic target recognition capabilities, it can be launched both during the day or night and in all weather conditions.
“It’s smart and to the point,” a senior Rafael official told reporters on Tuesday, adding that the Seabreaker brings all the capabilities of the Israeli company into one precision strike fifth-generation missile.
It can be used for various purposes including sea-to-sea, sea-land, land-sea or land-land missions against high-value targets and can be launched from a naval platforms of varying size from fast attack missile ships to corvettes and frigates. Based on Rafael’s SPYDER launchers, the Seabreaker can also be fired from vehicles such as Humvees or Dodge Rams, making it a versatile and mobile.
Rafael did not design the missile for launch from submarines or aircraft like other missiles it produces.
According to the company, the battery architecture supports standalone launchers, or operates as an integrated solution with a command and control Unit (CCU) and various sensors.
With an advanced IIR (Imaging Infra-Red) seeker, the Seabreaker can engage both maritime and land targets in advanced anti-access or area denial arenas. It can hit targets in littoral or brown water, including archipelagos and also strike targets where previous “generation RF-seeker-based missiles are not effective,” Rafael said.
The Seabreaker can maneuver and dodge obstacles while it flies at terrain-following low-level flight above the ground or sea skimming, below enemy air defense radar altitudes. With data sharing and man-in-the-loop systems, the operator can see exactly when the missile hits its target, even when launched from a stand-alone range.
According to senior Rafael officials, the company took the capabilities of both the SPIKE NLOS and SPICE missiles and combined them to make the Seabreaker.
The state-of-the-art electro-optical seekers with unique scene-matching algorithms, navigation guidance and homing techniques, the Seabreaker can fulfill operational missions without GPS and with minimum collateral damage.
Using artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies like deep-learning and big data-based scene matching, the missile is able to automatically acquire and track targets. It also has a datalink-support system that allows the operator to make decisions and tactical updates.
The surgical-strike missile can be operated in GPS-denied arenas and is immune to electronic countermeasures (ECM) and is jam-resilient. The Seabreaker also has a mid-flight abort capability and battle damage assessment for operators to see the target after firing the missile.
“It’s mission effective,” said the official, adding that it can strike targets “when you want, how you want and from where you want.”