In 2021 Rafael Advanced Defense Systems introduced its Sea Breaker weapon, a fifth-generation anti-ship missile for launch from either ship or shore. Rafael adapted the weapon for air launch as the Ice Breaker, and is publicly unveiling it at the Farnborough Airshow (Stand 3526).
Designed to attack a variety of high-value land and sea targets, the Ice Breaker can be land-, sea-, or air-launched and offers expanded capabilities over the anti-ship missile upon which it is based. It offers a standoff range of up to 162 nm (300 km) and is resilient in the face of electronic countermeasures. It retains full capability in GNSS-denied areas.
Ice Breaker can launch from a wide range of aerial carriers, from fighters to helicopters and light aircraft. It comes fitted with an imaging infrared seeker that allows it to engage both fixed and moving targets. The weapon flies at high subsonic speeds, navigating by pre-planned waypoints. Attack profiles can be pre-planned, covering various azimuth, impact angle, and aimpoint selections.
A datalink provides operator decision-making, tactical updates, and an in-flight abort capability. The weapon features advanced automatic target acquisition and recognition algorithms, based on Rafael’s combat-proven artificial intelligence technology, which employs deep learning and big data-based scene-matching.