Britain wants to buy the advanced Israeli-made Rampage supersonic missile, The National has revealed.
A team of Royal Air Force officers and Defense Equipment and Support technicians have reportedly visited Israel to examine the weapon, with a view to mounting it on the Typhoon fighter.
Experts believe the RAF is looking for a fast and effective missile to help increase its “lethality” and replenish its stocks after sending several of its Storm Shadow cruise missiles to Ukraine.
The Rampage is equally capable of penetrating Russian-made defense systems. The rocket-powered Rampage can fly at 2,000 km/h with a range of up to 300 km, according to defense sources, and is nearly impossible to stop.
“It’s very interesting that the RAF is looking into this as they can’t afford a lot more Storm Shadows or can’t get them fast enough so it seems like they’re looking at cheaper alternatives that can essentially make a Very similar job, but at a better price,” said Jeremy Binnie, Middle East editor for Janes, the defense intelligence firm.
A Storm Shadow missile costs more than 3 million dollars. Although the exact costs of the Rampage are unknown, it is believed to be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The Israeli air force has used the weapon to great effect against Iranian missile sites and other targets in Syria, taking advantage of its range to fire from its own airspace without the threat of its planes being shot down.
A Defense source told The National that the British had examined the missile during a recent trip.
“The RAF contingent recently visited Israel to see the Rampage and was impressed,” the source stated. “They are looking at mounting it on their Typhoon fighters to give them much more firepower.”
RAF officers also examined the missile when it was displayed at the Farnborough Airshow last year. The source added that the weapon was too long to mount internally on the new F-35 Lightning fighter bomber.
Rampage was adapted from a surface-to-surface artillery missile and developed by Israel Military Industries and Israel Aerospace Industries.
Its first known success was against Iran’s Masyaf missile plant in Syria’s Hama province in 2019, where it penetrated Russian-made S-300 missile defenses and destroyed several bunkers.
The 570 kg missile has a 150 kg warhead, a precision guidance system, and anti-jamming devices that can place it within 10 meters of a target when fired.
Mounted on F-16 fighters, the same planes Ukrainian pilots are currently training in, the Rampage can be fired in salvoes of four in missions that can destroy highly protected targets such as airbases, command posts, ammunition depots and facilities.
Thanks to its ability to reach a supersonic speed at a steep angle, impacting the target at a speed of 550 meters per second, the Rampage is very difficult to shoot down.
It will provide a significant boost to the RAF and other NATO countries flying the Typhoon in the fight against the Russian threat.
“Sending four fighters with four Rampage missiles each allows us to strike in conditions we’ve never had before,” said Eli Reiter, head of IMI Systems’ Firepower Division.
Not only was it “a quantum leap in performance,” but it was “extraordinary cost-effectiveness,” he added.
Binnie said that adapting the Rampage to the Typhoon will make it more attractive to foreign buyers.
“This is a relatively cheap weapon that keeps the aircraft out of the range of enemy defenses and allows it to attack key military targets in well-defended terrain,” he said.
It is understood that technicians from defense company BAE Systems could integrate the weapon into Typhoons and have it combat-ready within a year of purchase.
However, it will not be used in Kyiv’s fight against Russia, as Israel does not allow its weapons to be re-exported to Ukraine. The RAF declined to comment on the visit.
Thomas Harding
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