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On 6 October 1973, the Israel Air- Cfaft Industries’ Gabriel became the best’s first—and so far only—sea-skim- ®,n8 antiship weapon to be used in action. The initial missile was fired off Latakia, Syria, at 2335 on the opening day of the October 1973 Arab-Israeli war> and within half an hour the Syrian
avy had lost two Soviet-built boats afnied with “Styx” (“SSN-2”) missiles, [o all, a “T-43” minesweeper, a P'4” torpedo boat, one “Osa” and tw° “Komar” missile boats were sunk ln less than an hour by Gabriels and Sunfire from five Israeli vessels. By the ^nd of the war a total of nine ships had Ccn claimed in four engagements by Gabriels, without a single Israeli loss— n° Arab vessel put to sea in the Mediter- rar>ean after 11 October.
Although the Israeli missile per- 0rmed so effectively against targets of Patfol boat size, it was originally de- S|8ned for use against much larger ves- Se*s- The weapon was planned to arm ^‘British Z-class destroyers of World ar II vintage and was intended to at- ^ Egypt’s Russian-built “Skory”-class estroyers, which had a gun range adVantage over the Israeli warships. In however, the Egyptian Navy was applied by the U.S.S.R. with “Komar” Vessels carrying two “Styx” antiship ^•ssiles. The larger and more advanced Gsa,” armed with four “Styx,” folded in 1966, and the Israel Navy fealized that it was facing a different lype of naval threat. This point was for- c*bly emphasized in October 1967 when Israeli Z-class destroyer Eilat was Sunk by three “Styx” fired from an ^Syptian missile boat.
Two years later the first of 12 French- u*h 230-ton Saar-class boats arrived in srael—the first platforms for the Ga- r,el weapon system. By the outbreak of lde October 1973 War all 12 were in *efvice, and they had been joined by the Irst two 415-ton Resief-chss vessels
Signed and built in Israel. The first S‘x of the smaller craft have up to eight Gabriel launchers each and varying r'umbers of Bofors 40-mm. guns, and second half dozen carry six launchers, together with an Oto Melara 76-mm. Gompatto gun. The Reshefs, of which the initial batch is believed to comprise six vessels, are armed normally with six Gabriels plus fore and aft 76-mm. guns. They are intended primarily for use in the Red Sea, whereas the Saars operate in the Mediterranean.
Gabriel was originally designed for an 11-nm. range in the anti-“Skory” role. “Styx” has a range of more than 25 nautical miles however, so the Israeli operational requirement called for a three-stage engagement plan:
(1) Detect and identify the enemy as early as possible;
(2) Close while using electronic- countermeasures equipment and fire when within Gabriel range, at the same time being prepared to carry out evasive maneuvers;
(3) Continue to close range while launching Gabriels, and finally use guns to destroy the target if necessary.
The original Gabriel Mk I, which has an effective range of about 12 nautical miles, has now been joined by the 22 nm. Mk II. The additional range is achieved by use of a bigger solid- propellant sustainer motor, which increases missile weight from 880 pounds to 1,100 pounds. A Mk III variant, with a 35-nm. range, has been projected.
All the related radar and fire-control equipment is built in Israel. The usual information—target position, own-ship speed, true, vertical, etc.—is fed to the 11-ft. long missile just before launch. The weapon is housed in a glass-fiber launcher/container on a single, fixed mounting or on a rotating triple assembly. An optical sight may be used if heavy jamming is present. A solid- propellant boost motor provides initial acceleration, the missile reaching a maximum altitude of about 250 feet before descending to approximately 150 feet for the cruise at high subsonic speed. Mid-course guidance is provided by a simple inertial platform and a radio altimeter. The attack phase is carried out between seven and 15 feet above the surface, depending on sea state, and an active radar seeker provides guidance commands. A variable- frequency seeker is being developed to improve the missile’s ability to counter jamming. The missile is fitted with a 330 lb. high-explosive warhead.
Gabriel is being exported to Singapore, Argentina, and South Africa, and other possible customers are in the pipeline. An air-launched version has been studied, but Israel’s purchase of the McDonnell Douglas Harpoon for this role is likely to preclude such a development.
ALL PHOTOS ARE COURTESY ISRAEL AIRCRAFT INDUSTRIES LTD