Combines Three Missile Ability At Once, Rafael Launches Sea Breaker Immune To Electronic Countermeasures

Rafael Sea Breaker Missile. (Source: Rafael)

JAKARTA - Israeli defense technology company, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, unveiled a new precision missile that can be launched from ships at sea or land-based launchers, hitting targets at a distance of up to 300 kilometers.

Called the 'Sea Breaker', the missile is a 'force multiplier' naval and artillery unit, designed to address the challenges of the modern battlefield, Rafael said in a statement.

The four-meter-long missile weighs less than 400 kilograms, flying at high subsonic speed towards its target. With infrared homing and automatic target recognition capabilities, it can be launched either day or night and in all weather conditions.

"It's smart and straight to the point," a senior Rafael official told reporters on Tuesday, adding Sea Breaker brings all of the Israeli company's capabilities into one fifth-generation missile.

Rafael Sea Breaker Missile. (Source: Rafael)

This missile is said to be capable of being fired for various missions, from sea-to-sea, sea-land, land-sea to land-ground, against high-value targets.

These missiles can be launched from naval platforms of various sizes from fast missile boats, corvettes to frigates. Based on Rafael's SPYDER launcher, the Sea Breaker can also be fired from vehicles such as Humvees or Dodge Rams, making it versatile and mobile.

However, Rafael did not design this missile to be launched from a submarine or aircraft like other missiles it produces.

According to the company, the battery architecture supports a standalone launcher, or operates as an integrated solution with a Command and Control Unit (CCU) and various sensors.

With its advanced IIR (Imaging Infra-Red) seeker, Seabreaker can strike both sea and land targets in advanced anti-access or area denial arenas. It can hit targets in coastal or brown waters, including islands and also strike targets where “previous generation RF seeker-based missiles were ineffective,” says Rafael.

Rafael Sea Breaker Missile. (Source: Rafael)

The Sea Breaker can maneuver and avoid obstacles while flying over terrain, following low-level above-ground flights or sea skimming, below enemy air defense radar altitude. With data sharing and a man-in-the-loop system, operators can see exactly when a missile hits its target, even when launched from a stand-alone range.

According to senior official Rafael, the company took the SPIKE, NLOS, and SPICE missile capabilities and combined them to make Seabreaker.

A state-of-the-art electro-optical seeker with unique sight-matching algorithms, navigation guidance and tracking techniques, the Seabreaker can fulfill operational missions without GPS and with minimum collateral damage.

Using artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies such as deep learning and big data-based scene matching, the missile can automatically acquire and track targets. It also has a datalink support system that allows operators to make tactical decisions and updates.

Not only that, the new missile can also be operated in GPS-rejected arenas and is immune to Electronic Countermeasures (ECM) and is jam-resistant. The Seabreaker also has flight cancellation and battle damage assessment capabilities for operators to spot targets after firing missiles.

"It's mission effective. These missiles can strike targets whenever you want, how you want, and from wherever you want," the official said.