In a significant-military development‚ Israel Defense Forces showed off its high-tech capabilities during their oct-26 operation targeting Iranian facilities. The multi-wave strike hit missile production sites and defense systems‚ including buildings with nuclear-program history
The raids success highlights a rarely-used weapon: air-launched ballistic missiles (these are different from common cruise missiles). Justin Bronk from Londons Royal United Services Institute points out that Iran protects such locations with lots of anti-aircraft systems; however the speed of these missiles makes them hard-to-stop
Only three countries currently use these weapons in their arsenal:
- Israel
- Russia
- China
The weapons key advantage is its launch flexibility — they can come from any direction says Uzi Rubin (whos one of Israels missile defense architects). While ground-based missiles launch from fixed spots air-launched ones dont have this limitation
Even though the US tested similar tech like the AGM-183 they didnt continue with it. A unnamed Air Force person confirms they dont use these missiles in their operations. However some experts think other countries might start developing them because the tech isnt too complex: its just guidance warheads and motors put together in a smart way
Despite their effectiveness these weapons arent unstoppable. During the Ukraine conflict Patriots missiles have shown they can intercept similar Russian weapons. Still the cost-effective nature of this tech might make it attractive to countries with existing missile programs