Israeli defense company Rafael has unveiled a new cruise missile, the Super Ice, which uses artificial intelligence and carries a 453-kilogram warhead, Israeli media reported Wednesday. The missile can be launched from aircraft, ships and land-based launchers.
The Super Ice belongs to a family of missiles that includes the Sea Breaker, unveiled in 2021, and the Ice Breaker from 2022. Its warhead is the heaviest of any Israeli missile warhead revealed to date, Haaretz reported.
The new missile is about seven meters (about 23 feet) long, more than twice the length of its predecessor, and weighs four times as much. It is powered by a jet engine and has two small wings and four stabilizers at the rear.
The Super Ice can fly just a few meters above the water and, over land, just above the treetops, which makes it harder to detect. “A good cruise missile is one that the enemy detects only shortly before it reaches its target,” the manufacturer stressed in a presentation cited by the daily Calcalist.
As Haaretz noted, thanks to AI-assisted systems, the missile can reach its target on its own even when satellite navigation is jammed and in difficult weather conditions.
It is designed for precision strikes from long range against heavily protected targets, including bunkers and missile launchers. The manufacturer did not disclose its range, although the earlier model could hit targets about 300 km (about 186 miles) away.
By 2023, the family of missiles had generated more than $1 billion in revenue, and more than 1,000 units were ordered in 2024. Rafael has six customers, whom it does not name. However, in 2025 it signed an agreement to produce the missiles in India, and Azerbaijan has displayed them in its arsenal.
According to the news site Ynet, it is also unknown whether the Israeli military is among the buyers of the missiles.
Haaretz noted that the wars in Ukraine and Iran have demonstrated the destructive power of cruise missiles. Russia has repeatedly shelled Ukrainian cities with them, and during the U.S. attack on Iran in March, Tomahawk cruise missiles hit a school, killing more than 170 people. (PAP)
