Tunnels won’t help terrorists against Israeli defense firm’s ROCKS missile

Rafael’s new missile is said to be capable of destroying underground targets.

 By World Israel News staff

Israeli defense electronics company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. has unveiled the new Rocks long-range air-to-surface missile at the Aero India show in Bangalore. The missile is said to be capable of destroying underground targets.

According to Rafael, the new missile can be fired long distances from a combat aircraft towards surface and underground targets so that the aircraft remains outside of the area targeted by air defense systems. The missile travels faster than the speed of sound, says the company, further reducing the likelihood that the aircraft firing the missile will be detected by anti-aircraft defenses.

Rafael says that the missile can also hit moving targets and disrupt GPS navigation systems if it is targeted.

The Rocks missile itself is guided most of the way to the target by a GPS navigation system, while the final meters are carried out by a homing device and processing photographs of the target to ensure a precise hit. Rafael has not disclosed full details about the range of the missile and its payload but stresses that the warhead is lethal.

“’Rocks uses its INS/GPS for mid-course navigation while homing on to the target is performed by using its electro-optical (EO) seeker and advanced image processing algorithms, which ensures hitting targets with great precision, overcoming GPS jamming or denial,” said a Rafael statement.

“Aero India is an excellent opportunity to present this new system, and we can proudly say that today Rafael is well-situated in India with a broad industrial base, joint-ventures, indigenous companies, and a substantial supply chain,” said Yuval Miller, Executive Vice-President and General Manager of Rafael’s Air & C4ISR Systems Division.

Sources believe that Rafael has designed the new missile especially for the Indian market where the Israeli company has been active for several decades through various subsidiaries and many business partnerships, says the Israeli Globes business news outlet.

As part of its collaboration with India, Rafael has already transferred know-how which allows local companies to manufacture some of its products in India as part of the Indian government’s ‘Make in India’ policy, says Globes.