Gabriel missile
Encyclopedia
Gabriel missiles, created by Israel Aircraft Industries
, are a range of anti-ship missile
s that use the technique of sea-skimming.
missiles sunk the destroyer INS Eilat
which was patrolling along the northern shores of the Sinai. Forty-seven Israeli soldiers and officers were killed or went missing in action and 100 were injured. The loss of the ship prompted the Israeli navy to ask Israel Aircraft Industries to accelerate the development of an anti-ship missile, which had begun in 1958 with the Luz
(or Lutz) program.
asked IAI to take over the program by recruiting Ori Even-Tov, a former Rafael engineer. Even-Tov suggested dropping the guidance joystick approach in use with the Luz. Instead, he proposed the development of an autonomous guidance system which would allow the missile to seek its objective, even in bad weather or bad visibility. He further proposed using an altimeter, allowing the missile to fly several some meters over the surface of the sea, making it difficult to detect and allowing it to hit the target just above the waterline. A radar , installed on the ship, had to guide the missile, while the altimeter had to maintain the missile in sea-skimming mode.
.
. Israeli missile boats armed with Gabriel Mk 1 missiles were credited with defeating Syrian ships armed with the Soviet-made Styx
missile. Even though the Styx missile had a longer range, it was the Gabriel's reliability and flexibility of handling that propelled the Israeli Navy to victory. It is known that the Syrians shot missile salvos at the charging Israeli vessels but missed due to the Israeli ECM technology of the time. When they were in range, the Israeli boats launched their Gabriel missiles, and sank all but one Syrian Osa class
ship; which was later sunk by cannon fire. After defeating the Syrian Navy (surviving Syrian ships stayed in port) the Israeli missile boats defeated the Egyptian navy as well, thus achieving naval supremacy for the rest of the war.
Older models of the Gabriel are still used by Chile
, Ecuador
, Israel
, Mexico
, Sri Lanka
, Kenya
, and other countries.
During the Yom Kippur War in 1973, however, the P-15 was much less successful. From October 6–12, 54 missiles were fired to no effect, according to Western sources. The aforementioned Russian sources, however, claim that a total of seven ships were sunk - all small types, such as trawlers, patrol boats, and missile boats. But the Russian specialists agreed with their Western counterparts that the overall results were unsatisfying, especially considering that seven Egyptian and Syrian vessels were sunk after being hit by Israeli Gabriel Mk.1 anti-ship missiles. Interestingly, this last figure is commonly recognized by specialists in both the West and East.
The first such encounter took place during the night of October 6–7, 1973, near Latakia on the Syrian coast. Israeli forces used helicopters flying slowly at very low altitude, effectively simulating naval targets. No Israeli ship was hit by the large salvo of P-15s subsequently fired by Syrians, who themselves lost the T-43 class trawler Jarmuk and three torpedo boats to Israeli Gabriel missiles. The Syrian missile boats withdrew successfully, but all of their missiles missed the Israeli helicopters, which had climbed to break the missile radars' locks. On the same night, a similar trick with helicopters was repeated against Egyptian ships north of the Sinai Peninsula. Yet another encounter took place near Latakia on the night of October 10–11. This time, the missile exchange between Israeli and Syrian missile boats took place without the use of helicopters, and Israeli ships relied on chaff launchers. The Syrian vessels maneuvered outside their harbor, among the anchored merchant ships. Two of the warships were sunk by Gabriels, which also hit two neutral ships (the Greek Tsimentaros and the Japanese Yamashuro Maru). According to Israeli sources, the use of chaff saved all of its vessels, but it is possible that, on that occasion, at least one Sa'ar-class missile boat was hit and sunk (Russian sources claim three). The following night, the helicopter trick was again successfully used during an encounter near Tartus, off the Syrian coast. Again, no Israeli ship was hit by a salvo of P-15s fired by Syrian missile boats. On the Syrian side, two Komar-class vessels were sunk by Gabriels and also the Soviet merchant ship Ilya Mechnikov was hit. On the same night, a similar encounter took place off the coast of Port Sai
Ecuador
Eritrea
India
Kenya
Sri Lanka
Republic of China
Thailand
Israel Aircraft Industries
Israel Aerospace Industries or IAI is Israel's prime aerospace and aviation manufacturer, producing aerial systems for both military and civilian usage. It has 16,000 employees as of 2007...
, are a range of anti-ship missile
Anti-ship missile
Anti-ship missiles are guided missiles that are designed for use against ships and large boats. Most anti-ship missiles are of the sea-skimming type, many use a combination of inertial guidance and radar homing...
s that use the technique of sea-skimming.
Origin
On October 21, 1967, 4 StyxP-15 Termit
The P-15 Termit is an anti-ship missile developed by the Soviet Union's Raduga design bureau in the 1950s. Its GRAU designation was 4K40, its NATO reporting name was Styx or SS-N-2. In Russian service today it also seems to be called the Rubezh...
missiles sunk the destroyer INS Eilat
HMS Zealous (R39)
HMS Zealous was a Z-class destroyer of the Royal Navy built in 1944 by Cammell Laird. She served during the Second World War, participating in operations in the North Sea and off the Norwegian coast, before taking part in some of the Arctic convoys...
which was patrolling along the northern shores of the Sinai. Forty-seven Israeli soldiers and officers were killed or went missing in action and 100 were injured. The loss of the ship prompted the Israeli navy to ask Israel Aircraft Industries to accelerate the development of an anti-ship missile, which had begun in 1958 with the Luz
Luz (missile)
The RAFAEL Luz was the first missile build in Israel. RAFAEL developed the missile using knowledge gained from the French MD-620 missile, built for the Israel Defense Forces by Avions Marcel Dassault-Breguet Aviation...
(or Lutz) program.
Development
Faced with Rafael's anxiety to develop a new guidance system, Shlomo ArelShlomo Arel
Shlomo Arel was a Major General in the IDF, and the seventh Commander of the Israeli Navy.-Biography:Arel was born in Poland in 1920 and he made aliyah to Mandate Palestine with his parents in 1926. His family moved to Petah Tikva, but eventually settled in Tel Aviv...
asked IAI to take over the program by recruiting Ori Even-Tov, a former Rafael engineer. Even-Tov suggested dropping the guidance joystick approach in use with the Luz. Instead, he proposed the development of an autonomous guidance system which would allow the missile to seek its objective, even in bad weather or bad visibility. He further proposed using an altimeter, allowing the missile to fly several some meters over the surface of the sea, making it difficult to detect and allowing it to hit the target just above the waterline. A radar , installed on the ship, had to guide the missile, while the altimeter had to maintain the missile in sea-skimming mode.
Gabriel Mk 1
The development of the Gabriel for the Israeli Navy began in 1962 with the first model being ready by the 1973 Yom Kippur WarYom Kippur War
The Yom Kippur War, Ramadan War or October War , also known as the 1973 Arab-Israeli War and the Fourth Arab-Israeli War, was fought from October 6 to 25, 1973, between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria...
.
Gabriel Mk 2
Work on an improved version, the Gabriel Mk 2, started in 1972 and it entered service in 1976. It was also built under licence in Taiwan, as the Hsiung Feng 1 and South Africa under the name 'Skerpioen' (Afrikaans for Scorpion).Gabriel III
Gabriel III and Gabriel III A/S were introduced in 1978 with major improvements. The air-launched Gabriel III A/S has a range of over 60 km. Both Gabriel III versions utilise the now widely used 'fire and forget' mode. The Gabriel III flies so low that it is extremely hard for enemy targets to detect early enough to counter.Gabriel IV
Gabriel IV is a new long-range turbojet-powered version that has a 200 km rangeGabriel V (Advanced Naval Attack Missile)
Israel Aerospace Industries is reportedly working on a Gabriel V (Advanced Naval Attack Missile), with an advanced active radar seeker designed for cluttered littoral environments.Operational history
During the Yom Kippur War the Gabriel I was used for the first time during the Battle of LatakiaBattle of Latakia
The Battle of Latakia was a small but revolutionary naval battle of the Yom Kippur War, fought on 7 October 1973, between Israel and Syria. It was the first naval battle in history to see combat between surface-to-surface missile-equipped missile boats and the use of electronic deception.At the...
. Israeli missile boats armed with Gabriel Mk 1 missiles were credited with defeating Syrian ships armed with the Soviet-made Styx
P-15 Termit
The P-15 Termit is an anti-ship missile developed by the Soviet Union's Raduga design bureau in the 1950s. Its GRAU designation was 4K40, its NATO reporting name was Styx or SS-N-2. In Russian service today it also seems to be called the Rubezh...
missile. Even though the Styx missile had a longer range, it was the Gabriel's reliability and flexibility of handling that propelled the Israeli Navy to victory. It is known that the Syrians shot missile salvos at the charging Israeli vessels but missed due to the Israeli ECM technology of the time. When they were in range, the Israeli boats launched their Gabriel missiles, and sank all but one Syrian Osa class
Osa class missile boat
The Project 205 Tsunami, more commonly known by their NATO reporting name Osa, are a class of missile boats developed for the Soviet Navy in the early 1960s. The Osas are probably the most numerous class of missile boats ever built, with over 400 vessels constructed for both the Soviet Navy and for...
ship; which was later sunk by cannon fire. After defeating the Syrian Navy (surviving Syrian ships stayed in port) the Israeli missile boats defeated the Egyptian navy as well, thus achieving naval supremacy for the rest of the war.
Older models of the Gabriel are still used by Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
, Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, and other countries.
During the Yom Kippur War in 1973, however, the P-15 was much less successful. From October 6–12, 54 missiles were fired to no effect, according to Western sources. The aforementioned Russian sources, however, claim that a total of seven ships were sunk - all small types, such as trawlers, patrol boats, and missile boats. But the Russian specialists agreed with their Western counterparts that the overall results were unsatisfying, especially considering that seven Egyptian and Syrian vessels were sunk after being hit by Israeli Gabriel Mk.1 anti-ship missiles. Interestingly, this last figure is commonly recognized by specialists in both the West and East.
The first such encounter took place during the night of October 6–7, 1973, near Latakia on the Syrian coast. Israeli forces used helicopters flying slowly at very low altitude, effectively simulating naval targets. No Israeli ship was hit by the large salvo of P-15s subsequently fired by Syrians, who themselves lost the T-43 class trawler Jarmuk and three torpedo boats to Israeli Gabriel missiles. The Syrian missile boats withdrew successfully, but all of their missiles missed the Israeli helicopters, which had climbed to break the missile radars' locks. On the same night, a similar trick with helicopters was repeated against Egyptian ships north of the Sinai Peninsula. Yet another encounter took place near Latakia on the night of October 10–11. This time, the missile exchange between Israeli and Syrian missile boats took place without the use of helicopters, and Israeli ships relied on chaff launchers. The Syrian vessels maneuvered outside their harbor, among the anchored merchant ships. Two of the warships were sunk by Gabriels, which also hit two neutral ships (the Greek Tsimentaros and the Japanese Yamashuro Maru). According to Israeli sources, the use of chaff saved all of its vessels, but it is possible that, on that occasion, at least one Sa'ar-class missile boat was hit and sunk (Russian sources claim three). The following night, the helicopter trick was again successfully used during an encounter near Tartus, off the Syrian coast. Again, no Israeli ship was hit by a salvo of P-15s fired by Syrian missile boats. On the Syrian side, two Komar-class vessels were sunk by Gabriels and also the Soviet merchant ship Ilya Mechnikov was hit. On the same night, a similar encounter took place off the coast of Port Sai
Users
- Chilean NavyChilean Navy-Independence Wars of Chile and Peru :The Chilean Navy dates back to 1817. A year before, following the Battle of Chacabuco, General Bernardo O'Higgins prophetically declared "this victory and another hundred shall be of no significance if we do not gain control of the sea".This led to the...
Ecuador
- Ecuadoran Navy
Eritrea
- Eritrean NavyEritrean NavyThe Eritrean Navy is a smaller branch of the Eritrean Defence Forces. It is responsible for the security of the entire coastline of Eritrea, more than 1,100 km, as well as the Eritrean territorial waters.-Naval ships:*Super Dvora Mk II-6...
India
- Indian NavyIndian NavyThe Indian Navy is the naval branch of the armed forces of India. The President of India serves as the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff , usually a four-star officer in the rank of Admiral, commands the Navy...
- Israeli Navy
Kenya
- Kenyan Navy
- Mexican NavyMexican NavyThe Mexican Navy is the naval branch of the Mexican military responsible for conducting naval operations. Its stated mission is "to use the naval force of the federation for the exterior defense, and to help with internal order". The Navy consists of about 56,000 men and women plus reserves, over...
Sri Lanka
- Sri Lankan NavySri Lankan Navy-The Beginning and World War II:In January 1938 the Ceylon Naval Volunteer Force was created with Commander W.G. Beauchamp as Commanding Officer under ordinance No I of 1937. On 31 August 1939 at the out set of World War II, the CNVF was mobilized for war duties...
Republic of China
- Republic of China NavyRepublic of China NavyThe Republic of China Navy is the maritime branch of the Armed forces of the Republic of China . The ROC Navy's primary mission is to defend ROC territories and the sea lanes that surround Taiwan against a blockade, attack, or possible invasion by forces of the People's Republic of China...
Former users
- Republic of Singapore NavyRepublic of Singapore NavyThe Republic of Singapore Navy is the naval component of the Singapore Armed Forces , responsible for the defence of Singapore against sea-borne threats and protection of its sea lines of communications. Operating within the crowded littoral waters of the Singapore Strait, the RSN is regarded as...
- South African NavySouth African NavyThe South African Navy is the navy of the Republic of South Africa.-Formation:The South African Navy can trace its official origins back to the SA Naval Service, which was established on 1 April 1922....
Thailand
- Royal Thai NavyRoyal Thai NavyThe Royal Thai Navy is the navy of Thailand and part of the Royal Thai Armed Forces, it was established in the late 19th century. Admiral Prince Abhakara Kiartiwongse is "The Father of Royal Thai Navy". Similar to the organizational structure of the United States, the Royal Thai Navy includes the...