Delilah

Israel’s turbojet-powered loitering cruise missile — a standoff weapon that combines man-in-the-loop terminal guidance with multi-platform versatility, and has been battle-tested from Lebanon (2006) through the 2026 Iran war.

Overview

The Delilah is a subsonic, air-launched loitering cruise missile developed by Israel Military Industries (IMI) and now produced by Elbit Systems. Originally adapted from a 1980s anti-radiation drone, the weapon evolved into a precision offensive missile in the 1990s and entered Israeli Air Force service around 1995. Its defining feature is a man-in-the-loop datalink that lets a remote weapon systems officer observe the target in real time through the missile’s infrared seeker, then confirm, abort, or redirect the strike. This ability, combined with a 250-km range, a small but exceptionally accurate warhead, and compatibility with fighter aircraft, helicopters, ground-launched canisters (PULS MLRS), and shipboard mounts, makes Delilah a uniquely flexible asset in Israel’s arsenal.

Development

The Delilah lineage began in the 1980s as an anti-radiation attack drone based on the U.S. MQM-74 Chukar aerial target, designed to detect SAM radars. By the mid-1990s, IMI had transformed the concept into an offensive strike missile with a turbojet sustainer, INS/GPS midcourse guidance, and a CCD/IIR terminal seeker, and the weapon reached operational status with the IAF around 1995, according to Wikipedia and CSIS Missile Threat. The ground-launched variant, Delilah-GL, was first publicly acknowledged in 2004, marking Israel’s first known ground-launched cruise missile. In November 2018, IMI was acquired by Elbit Systems, and Delilah production, refinement, and export marketing shifted to Elbit’s Land division. As of mid-2025, Elbit confirmed it is developing next-generation Delilah versions with extended range and expanded warhead choices for the export market, as reported by Militär Aktuell.

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