Gabriel (missile)

The development of the Gabriel for the Israeli Navy began in 1962,[3] before being first shown to the public in 1970. It was touted to be the world's first operational sea-skimming missile, and saw extensive action during the Yom Kippur War.[4] A batch of 50 was imported by the Republic of China Navy for evaluation and as the interim weapon for the three Allen M. Sumner class destroyers upgraded with Gabriel Mk 2 missile system, and it is also the basis for the Taiwanese Hsiung Feng I missile.

The Gabriel Mk 2, an improved version of Gabriel, was created in 1972 and entered service in 1976. It was also built under license South Africa under the name Skerpioen (Afrikaans for Scorpion).[5] The Taiwanese Hsiung Feng I missile can be considered as a parallel development, being based on Gabriel Mk 1 but with similar improvements, and ordnances used by the two systems are interchangeable.

Gabriel III and Gabriel III A/S were introduced in 1978[6] with major improvements. The air-launched Gabriel III A/S has a range of over 60 km.[7] Both Gabriel III versions employ the widely used 'fire and forget' mode.

Developed in the early 1990s is related to the Gabriel Mk III but larger and with a turbojet engine for sustained flight. It is distinguishable from the Mk III because of its swept wings with cropped tip. Like the Mk III, it has 3 guidance modes: Fire and Forget, Fire and Update with data link, and Fire and command using Radar update[4]

Israel Aerospace Industries is reportedly working on a Gabriel V Advanced Naval Attack Missile, with an advanced active multi-spectra seeker designed for cluttered littoral environments.[8][9] As of 2020, this variant is deployed by the Finnish and Israeli navies.[10]

Older models of the Gabriel are still used by Chile: Sa'ar 4 with Gabriel II, Israel: Sa'ar 4.5 with Gabriel II, Mexico: Sa'ar 4.5 with Gabriel II, Sri Lanka: Sa'ar 4 with Gabriel II, Thailand: FPB-45 with Gabriel I.

During the Yom Kippur War in 1973, the Styx was shown to be far less effective than previously believed. From October 6 to October 12, 54 missiles were fired to no effect, according to Western sources. The aforementioned Russian sources however, claim that a total of seven ships were sunk - all small vessels such as trawlers, patrol boats, and missile boats. But the Russian specialists agreed with their Western counterparts that the overall results were unsatisfying, especially considering that seven Egyptian and Syrian vessels were sunk after being hit by Israeli Gabriel Mk.1 anti-ship missiles. This last figure is commonly recognized by specialists in both the West and East.

The first such encounter took place during the night of October 6 to October 7, 1973, near Latakia on the Syrian coast. Israeli forces used helicopters flying slowly at very low altitude, effectively simulating naval targets. No Israeli ship was hit by the large salvo of P-15s subsequently fired by the Syrians, who themselves lost the T-43 class trawler Jarmuk and three torpedo boats to Israeli Gabriel missiles. The Syrian missile boats withdrew successfully, but all of their missiles missed the Israeli helicopters, which had climbed to break the missile radars' locks. On the same night, a similar trick with helicopters was repeated against Egyptian ships north of the Sinai Peninsula. Yet another encounter took place near Latakia on the night of October 10–11. This time, the missile exchange between Israeli and Syrian missile boats took place without the use of helicopters, and Israeli ships relied on chaff. The Syrian vessels maneuvered outside their harbor among the anchored merchant ships. Two of the warships were sunk by Gabriel missiles, which also hit two neutral ships, the Greek Tsimentaros and the Japanese Yamashuro Maru. According to Israeli sources, the use of chaff saved all of its vessels. The following night, the helicopter maneuver was again successfully used during an encounter near Tartus off the Syrian coast. No Israeli ship was hit by a salvo of P-15s fired by Syrian missile boats. On the Syrian side, two Komar-class vessels were sunk by Gabriel missiles, and also the Soviet merchant ship Ilya Mechnikov was hit. On the same night, a similar encounter took place off the coast of Port Said.

 Azerbaijan[12]

• Azerbaijan Navy

 Chile

• Chilean Navy

 Ecuador

• Ecuadoran Navy

 Eritrea

• Eritrean Navy

 Finland

• Finnish Navy from 2019 onwards[13] (Gabriel V[14])

 Israel

• Israeli Navy

 Kenya

• Kenyan Navy

 Mexico

• Mexican Navy

 Sri Lanka

• Sri Lankan Navy

 India

• Indian Navy

 Argentina

• Argentine Navy - Used during the Falklands War war against the Royal Navy[15]

 Singapore

• Republic of Singapore Navy

 South Africa

• South African Navy[16]

 Taiwan

• Republic of China Navy (Mk 2, reduced to reserve status due to service entry of the similar Hsiung Feng I missile and decommissioned in early 1990s)

 Thailand

• Royal Thai Navy

 Brazil

Brazilian Navy