Israel’s Rafael unveils Sea Breaker missile

Sea Breaker
3D Illustration of Sea Breaker missile (Credit: Rafael)

Sea Breaker utilizes Rafael’s technological innovations such as electro-optics, computer vision, Artificial Intelligence and decision-making algorithms for full operational capability in GNSS-denied environments for maritime superiority missions.

Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. unveils Sea Breaker, a 5th generation long-range, autonomous, precision-guided missile system, enabling significant attack performance against a variety of high-value maritime and land targets, the company shared with a press release.

Sea Breaker is a naval and artillery unit force-multiplier, designed to overcome the modern warfare arena challenges, using Rafael’s legacy of high-end precision-guided solutions.

Sea Breaker provides surgical, pin-point precision strikes from stand-off ranges of up to 300 km. It features an advanced IIR (Imaging Infra-Red) seeker, ideal for engagement of maritime and land targets, stationary or moving, in advanced Anti-Access/Area Denial (A2/AD) arenas, and in littoral or brown water, including archipelago, as well as for engagements in which previous generation RF-seeker-based missiles are not effective.

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Image courtesy of Rafael

Sea Breaker can be launched from naval platforms, varying in size, from fast attack missile boats, to corvettes and frigates. The land version is a central part of the shore defense, based on Rafael’s highly-mobile SPYDER launchers. The battery architecture supports standalone launchers, or operation as an integrated solution, with a command and control Unit (CCU) and various sensors, based on customer requirements.

Using Artificial Intelligence, Sea Breaker performs deep-learning and big data-based scene-matching, a unique combat-proven Rafael technology, enabling Automatic Target Acquisition (ATA) and Automatic Target Recognition (ATR). The system has full operational capability in GNSS-denied arenas, in all weather conditions. The missile is ECM immune and jam-resilient. Sea Breaker’s mission profile enables sea-skimming and terrain-following low-level flight above ground.

Flying at high subsonic speeds, Sea Breaker has a multi-directional, synchronized full sphere attack capability, based on predefined attack plans, according to waypoints, azimuth, impact angle and aim point selection, ensuring a high probability of mission success, with a 250 lb. penetration, blast and fragmentation warhead, making a single hit effective enough to neutralize a frigate-sized ship.

The missile’s datalink supports real-time man-in-the-loop decision-making and tactical updates. It also features a mid-flight abort capability and Battle Damage Assessment (BDA).

Naval Post comment: The most critical advantage of the Sea Breaker missile is IIR guidance. As mentioned by the company officials, IIR guidance is very effective in littoral waters. Because the missiles fitted with RF guidance don’t have a high hit probability due to the echo of the islands or cliffs. To make better analyses, we need to know more about the guidance unit of the missile and should see the videos of the missile’s live-firing tests. But, the Sea Breaker offers a promising technology, could be a tough competitor to Lockheed Martin’s LRASM.

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Image courtesy of Rafael

Check out Naval Library App to find out the specifications of the Sea Breaker missiles.

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