Less than two weeks after Iran reportedly launched its first hypersonic missile, Israel has unveiled its groundbreaking anti-hypersonic air defense system capable of intercepting missiles flying at the speed of sound.
The “Sky Sonic” hypersonic missile interceptor, developed by the Israeli defense technology company Rafael, is expected to be presented at the next week’s Paris Air Show.
The unveiling of Israeli-made Sky Sonic will be game changers since hypersonic missiles are considered unstoppable by existing air defense systems.
“The “Sky Sonic” air defense system features hit-to-kill technology, intercepting incoming missiles by colliding with them,” the U.S. news website Defense Post reported Friday. The interceptor “can reportedly neutralize threats traveling ten times the speed of sound with unmatched precision and stealth.”
The Times of Israel reported the details of the Israel anti-hypersonic missile system:
Israel’s Rafael defense contractor unveiled Wednesday that it has been developing a first-of-its-kind anti-hypersonic missile defense system.According to the company, the Sky Sonic interceptor missile, which has been in development for around three years, will be shown for the first time at the upcoming Paris Air Show next week.The announcement comes after Iran earlier this month claimed it had developed a new hypersonic missile. Rafael officials said the company had only recently been given approval by the Defense Ministry to reveal the system.Rafael said the Sky Sonic missile “represents a major technological leap in hypersonic missile defense.”“Designed with exceptional maneuverability and high-speed capabilities, it effectively neutralizes hypersonic missiles [which travel at speeds of over five times the speed of sound] with unmatched precision and stealth,” it said.
Earlier this week, Iran reportedly unveiled a hypersonic missile capable of bypassing western air defense systems and hitting “Israel within 400 seconds,” the regime-run media claimed.
The Iranian hypersonic missile, named Fattah, is “claimed to have a range of 870 miles (1,400km), to be able to travel at up to 15 times the speed of sound and to bypass air defence systems,” the UK newspaper Guardian reported June 6.
The Iranian “missiles can fly at least at Mach 5 – five times the speed of sound – and their speed and claimed manoeuvrability is believed to make them difficult to intercept,” the daily added.
The announcement comes as President Joe Biden hopes for a “mini nuke deal” with Iran as his policy of appeasement through easing sanctions is failing miserably.
In addition to Iran, Russia and China claim to have an array of hypersonic weapons. In 2021, China tested a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile that “flew through low-orbit space” and could be able to “negate” U.S. missile defense systems,” the UK-based Financial Times reported.
While the Pentagon has conducted a series of hypersonic weapons tests, China and Russia seem to be ahead in the race, media reports suggest.
President Donald Trump repeatedly stressed the need for developing hypersonic missiles to match China and Russia’s growing capabilities. The snobbish mainstream media brushed aside the warning and mocked the president for mispronouncing the missile as “hydrosonic” and for describing it as “super duper” fast.
The New York Times even dismissed the technology as a hoax. “Hypersonic Superweapons Are a Mirage, New Analysis Says,” the newspaper reported in January 2021.
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