Israel Hits Iran With Half-Ton Rampage Supersonic Missile – Newsbomb – News

Israel used one long range supersonic missile in its strike on Iran last week, Israel’s Kan TV station reported, according to the Times of Israel. US officials said Israel launched a missile attack on a military base near the city of Isfahan on Friday (4/19).

Israel has not confirmed the reports, while Iran has sought to downplay the incident, citing only small drones used in the attack, which, in an interview with NBC News, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said they were “like toys our children play with.”

While it remains unclear what weapons were used in the attack, Israel’s national broadcaster Kan reported that Israel used a “Rampage” air-to-surface missile, claiming it was identified in the photos and that the damage caused by the attack was consistent with a Rampage strike , according to the Times of Israel.

The Rampage missile was developed by the Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) for use against targets such as “command and communication centers, air bases, infrastructure and equipment maintenance centers,” according to the company’s website, which includes a video of a Rampage attack simulation

This missile weighs about half a ton, can reach supersonic speeds of 2,000 km/h, has a range of 300 km and uses a GPS/INS navigation system, while having anti-jamming systems. According to the Israeli network KAN this missile is almost impossible to intercept due to the high speed it develops.

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Other reports, however, say another type of missile was used in the attack. Analyzes by the BBC and the Financial Times, based on debris that landed in Iraq, suggest the attack involved Israel’s Blue Sparrow missile. Israel’s Sparrow missile is an air-launched ballistic missile with a range of up to 1,240 miles, according to the FT. It is typically used to test Israel’s air defenses, per The War Zone.

Two Western officials said Israel’s strike on Iran, which was launched in response to Iran’s attack on Israel last week, was intended to show Tehran that it could easily evade its air defense systems, the New York Times reported.

A much larger attack was considered but rejected after discussions with President Joe Biden and the foreign ministers of Britain and Germany, the paper said.

The Rampage is considered a budget alternative, costing hundreds of thousands of dollars each, compared to the $3 million price tag for each Storm Shadow, according to The National. A video shared on the company’s YouTube channel simulates a missile strike.