IAI Gabriel

The Gabriel is a family of sea-skimming anti-ship missiles built by Israel Aerospace Industries. Work on its forerunner, the Luz programme, began in 1958, and after four Styx missiles sank the destroyer INS Eilat in October 1967 the Israeli Navy asked IAI to speed the effort up. IAI took the programme over and replaced the Luz joystick guidance with an autonomous seeker and an altimeter that keeps the missile a few metres above the waves, so that it strikes just above the waterline. The first version was shown to the public in 1970, was touted as the first operational sea-skimming missile, and was credited with helping Israeli missile boats win the Battle of Latakia in the Yom Kippur War. Later versions include the Mk 2 of 1972, the Gabriel III of 1978 with a fire-and-forget mode, the turbojet-powered Gabriel IV of the early 1990s and the Gabriel V, in use with the Finnish and Israeli navies as of 2020. The Blue Spear and Sea Serpent are derivatives, and navies in Asia, Latin America, Africa and Europe have bought it.