Gabriel (missile)
Gabriel is a family of sea skimming anti-ship missiles manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). The initial variant of the missile was developed in the 1960s in response to the needs of the Israeli Navy which first deployed it in 1970. Since then, variants have been exported to navies around the world. The latest variant, the Gabriel V, is in use by the Finnish and Israeli navies as of 2020. Origin. On October 21, 1967, four Styx missiles sank the destroyer INS "Eilat", which was patrolling along the northern shores of the Sinai. Forty-seven Israeli sailors  and officers were killed or went missing in action and 100 were injured. The loss of the ship prompted the Israeli Navy to ask Israel Aerospace Industries to accelerate the development of an anti-ship missile, which had begun in 1958 with the Luz (or Lutz) program. Development. Faced with Rafael Advanced Defense Systems's anxiety to develop a new guidance system, Shlomo Erell asked Israel Aerospace Industries to take over the program by recruiting Ori Even-Tov, a former Rafael engineer. Even-Tov suggested dropping the guidance joystick approach used by the Luz, and instead proposed the development of  an autonomous guidance system which would allow the missile to seek its objective, even in bad weather or bad visibility. He further proposed using an altimeter, allowing the missile to fly some meters over the surface of the sea, making it difficult to detect and allowing it to hit the target just above the waterline. A radar installed on the ship had to guide the missile, while the altimeter would keep the missile in sea-skimming mode. Gabriel Mk 1. The development of the Gabriel for the Israeli Navy began in 1962, 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. 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. Gabriel Mk 2. The Gabriel Mk 2, an improved version of Gabriel, was created in 1972 and entered service in 1976. It was also built under license in South Africa  under the name "Skerpioen" (Afrikaans for Scorpion). 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. Gabriel III and Gabriel III A/S were introduced in 1978 with major improvements. The air-launched Gabriel III A/S has a range of over 60 km. Both Gabriel III versions employ the widely used 'fire and forget' mode. Gabriel IV. 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 Gabriel V. 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. As of 2020, this variant is deployed by the Finnish and Israeli navies. Range is claimed to be more than 200km to 400km. Blue Spear  and Sea Serpent missile systems. In 2020, Israel's IAI and Singapore's ST Engineering started a 50/50 joint venture company called Proteus Advanced Systems to develop, produce and market a derivative of the Gabriel V called the Blue Spear missile system (Blue Spear). The missile has both sea and deep land attack capabilities with enhanced maneuverability for littoral environments. The warhead employs an active radar-homing seeker, accurate INS-based navigation capabilities, beyond-line-of-sight (BLOS) capability and a robust system which is immune to GPS disruptions and maximal accuracy target acquisition. The system is equipped with a  variety of deception means to achieve its mission and cope with the different battle-field challenges. ST Engineering’s role in the Blue Spear’s development includes the design, development and production of major subsystems like the booster motor and warhead whilst IAI focuses on other parts. In 2021, IAI and Thales jointly market a variant of Gabriel V or Blue Spear called Sea Serpent to the Royal Navy to replace its ageing Harpoon missile system. At DSEI 2021, IAI revealed that Sea Serpent is developed in parallel with the Blue Spear and based on the Gabriel V missile system  and/or older variants. IAI added that Sea Serpent has a low profile mode or sea skimming range of greater than 290km <ref name=290km>