Munitions / Surface to surface missiles / Gabriel

Gabriel

General Facts

  • TYPE
    Anti-ship missile

  • ORIGIN
    Israel

  • NICKNAMES
    Hsiung Feng I (Gabriel Mk 2 in Taiwanese service)
    Skerpioen (Gabriel Mk 2 in South African service)

  • DESIGNED
    1958 - mid 1960's (Gabriel Mk 1)
    1972 - 1976 (Gabriel Mk 2)
    1975 - 1978 (Gabriel III)
    Early 1990's (Gabriel IV)
    Early to late 2000's (Gabriel V)

  • DESIGNER
    Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI)

  • PRODUCTION
    Late 1960's - present

  • PRODUCERS
    Israel - IAI
    South Africa
    Taiwan

  • QUANTITY
    Over 3.000 Gabriel and about 250 Skerpioen have been produced.

  • UNIT COST
    Unknown

  • CHARACTERISTICS
    Sea skimming flight profile
    Multimode seekers in late models
    Limited range in early models

Introduction

The Gabriel is a late Cold War era subsonic anti-ship missile of Israeli origin. It was developed to counter ships equipped with the Soviet P-15 Termit (SS-N-2 Styx) anti-ship missile. The Gabriel was the world's first operational sea skimming missile. It was used successfully during the 1973 Yom Kippur war.

Layout

The Gabriel missile uses a conventional layout with the guidance section and warhead in the nose and the solid fuel rocket engine at the rear. The Gabriel has four cruciform wings in the middle and four smaller wings near the nozzle. The missile is launched from large containers since the wings do not fold. Three containers are mounted on a turntable launcher.

Guidance

The original Gabriel Mk 1 and Mk 2 use semi-active radar homing, requiring the target vessel to be lit by the ship's fire control radar. The Gabriel III introduced active radar homing, adding fire and forget attack capability. The long range Gabriel IV adds in flight updates through a data link. Gabriel V is optimized for littoral combat with an advanced active radar seeker.

Firepower

The Gabriel is fitted with a high explosive warhead that is able to sink small and medium size vessels. The Mk 1 has a maximum range of 20 km, while the Mk 2 has an improved range of 36 km. The Gabriel III has a similar 36 km range, but is able to reach 60 km when air launched. The larger and turbofan equipped Gabriel IV is able to reach targets 200 km away.

Platforms

The Gabriel missile has been fitted to a wide variety of combat ships, mostly corvettes. The Gabriel III is also produced in an air launched version. The Gabriel missile is not used in any coastal defense systems.

Users

All models of the Gabriel were adopted by the Israeli navy. Gabriel Mk 2 and III have also been widely exported to nations in South America, Africa and Asia. In many nations the Gabriel anti-ship missile remains in active use.

Variants

Gabriel missile

Gabriel Mk 1: Original Gabriel missile introduced in late 1960's. It uses a semi-active radar guidance and has a maximum range of only 20 km. The Mk 1 was extensively used by Israeli forces during the 1973 Yom Kippur war.
Gabriel Mk 2: The Mk 2 is an improved model which was introduced in 1976. It was produced under license in Taiwan as the Hsiung Feng I and assembled in South Africa as the Skerpioen.
Gabriel III: The Gabriel III is a much improved missile introduced in 1982. The longer body houses an active radar guidance section, adding a fire and forget capability.
Gabriel III A/S: Air launched version of the Gabriel III, also introduced in 1982. The initial velocity and launch altitude result in a longer range of 60 km.
Gabriel IV: Long range model derived from the Gabriel III, introduced in the 1990's. It is longer and much heavier due to the incorporation of a turbojet engine. This results in a longer range of 200 km. Guidance options are expanded with ability for data link updates and radar updates.
Gabriel V: Gabriel missile with sophisticated active radar seeker for use in littoral combat. Reportedly introduced in the late 2000's.

TypeAnti-ship missile
Diameter0.33 m body, 1.35 m wingspan
Length3.35 m
Weight430 kg
GuidanceSemi-active radar homing
Warhead100 kg HE
PropulsionSingle-stage solid propellant rocket motor
SpeedSubsonic
Range20 km
Altitude-
Engagement envelope-
RemarksSea skimming at 20 m in flight and 4.5 to 6 m terminal
TypeAnti-ship missile
Diameter0.33 m body, 1.35 m wingspan
Length3.36 m
Weight522 kg
GuidanceSemi-active radar homing
Warhead100 kg HE
PropulsionSingle-stage solid propellant rocket motor
SpeedSubsonic
Range6 to 36 km
Altitude-
Engagement envelope-
RemarksSea skimming at 20 m in flight and 2.5 to 3.5 m terminal
TypeAnti-ship missile
Diameter0.33 m body, 1.32 m wingspan
Length3.75 m
Weight560 kg
GuidanceActive radar homing, I-band
Warhead150 kg HE with impact fuze
PropulsionSingle-stage solid propellant rocket motor
SpeedSubsonic
Range36 km
Altitude-
Engagement envelope-
RemarksSea skimming at 2.5 m above water level
TypeAnti-ship missile
Diameter0.33 m body, 1.08 m wingspan
Length3.78 m
Weight590 kg
GuidanceActive radar homing, I-band
Warhead150 kg HE with impact fuze
PropulsionSingle-stage solid propellant rocket motor
Speed840 km/h max
Range60 km
Altitude9.1 km max launch altitude
Engagement envelope-
RemarksSea skimming at 2.5 m above water level
TypeAnti-ship missile
Diameter0.44 m body, 1.60 m wingspan
Length4.7 m
Weight960 kg
GuidanceActive radar homing, data link, command guidance
Warhead240 kg HE
PropulsionSingle-stage solid propellant rocket motor
SpeedSubsonic
Range200 km
Altitude-
Engagement envelope-
RemarksSea skimming at 2.5 m above water level
TypeAnti-ship missile
Diameter?
Length?
Weight?
GuidanceActive radar homing
Warhead?
PropulsionSingle-stage solid propellant rocket motor
SpeedSubsonic
Range?
Altitude-
Engagement envelope-
RemarksSea skimming at 2.5 m above water level

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