IAI's Sky Sniper Air Launched Ballistic Missile

[bobbymike]

http://defense-update.com/20160229_skysniper.html

How about fifty loaded onto the B-1 arsenal plane?

 

[Grey Havoc]

Technically, it's more like an air-launched conventionally armed IRBM.

 

[sferrin]

Technically, it's more like an air-launched conventionally armed IRBM.

More like a rocket-boosted JDAM. No way does it have IRBM range.

 

[SpudmanWP]

Air launched GMLRS.

 

[fightingirish]

Website:
http://www.iai.co.il/2013/34225-46386-en/Groups_SystemMissileandSpace_MLM_Products_PrecisionStrikingSystems.aspx
Pdf: http://www.iai.co.il/Sip_Storage//FILES/3/41693.pdf
Video:
https://youtu.be/uMEiYoaZ3pc

https://youtu.be/uMEiYoaZ3pc

I concur, that it is more like an air-launched GMLRS.

 

[covert_shores]

Could this be a Natanz bunker buster?

 

[SpudmanWP]

Nope as it could only have a ~300lb warhead.

 

[sferrin]

Air launched GMLRS.

Now they just need to make the MLRS/SDB air launchable.

 

[DrRansom]

This looks like a very cheap way of dealing with advanced short and medium range air defenses without buying stealth aircraft. A bit similar to the French AASM.

I could see this being very popular among nations which want a strike capability against advanced ADNs.

 

[TomS]

Air launched GMLRS.

My gut says the range should be quite a bit more than GMLRS. GMLRS has a time of flight of 2.5 minutes to 70 km (maximum range). ATACMS has a time of flight of 6 minutes to 300 km. Both of those are for stationary ground launches, obviously.

This missile has a time of flight of around 4 minutes, per the video. Assuming speed is similar to GMLRS and ATACMS (Mach 2.5-3), with a launch speed of near Mach 1 and an altitude of more than 30,000 feet, it should go at least a couple hundred kilometers.

 

[SpudmanWP]

Air launched GMLRS.

My gut says the range should be quite a bit more than GMLRS.

I was referring to basic size & functionality.

One thing that I noticed in the vid is that it utilizes a lofted, supersonic trajectory.

 

[orko_8]

Nope as it could only have a ~300lb warhead.

Given the amount of kinetic energy due to high supersonic speed and lofted trajectory as mentioned, even a warhead of this caliber can give pretty much damage.

 

[TomS]

Air launched GMLRS.

My gut says the range should be quite a bit more than GMLRS.

I was referring to basic size & functionality.

One thing that I noticed in the vid is that it utilizes a lofted, supersonic trajectory.

Fair point. It does rather look like the same size as GMLRS; basically an artillery rocket rather than an SRBM/IRBM in terms of either range or payload.

The interesting question would be whether the rocket is firing on the way back down for boosted penetration, or if it's purely gravity-powered on the descent. I'd guess the latter -- a four=minute burn would be long for a rocket of that size and if it was throttleable or multi-burn, it would be mentioned.

 

[Void]

It might be a modification of the EXTRA rocket.

 

[SpudmanWP]

It might be a modification of the EXTRA rocket.

http://defense-update.com/20120216_imi-explores-an-air-launched-derivative-of-the-extra-rocket.html

 

[TomS]

They certainly could be related. The nose profile seems a bit different, with Sky Sniper being more tapered, and I think Sky Sniper is a bit longer, just judging by its size compared to the AMRAAM on the same aircraft in the video. But those differences could well be the end result of an optimization exercise on EXTRA.