Rampage

Israel’s supersonic stand-off precision missile — a quasi-ballistic, low-cost adaptation of the EXTRA artillery rocket that delivers GPS/INS-guided strikes beyond the reach of enemy air defenses from a wide range of fighter aircraft.

Overview

Rampage is an air-launched supersonic stand-off weapon developed by IMI Systems (now part of Elbit Systems) with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). It is derived from the ground-launched EXTRA guided rocket, sharing the same 306 mm caliber and solid-propellant propulsion, but redesigned with reinforced hardpoints for fighter-carriage and a suite of anti-jam navigation electronics. The missile fills a gap in the Israeli and allied strike portfolio: a comparatively cheap, salvo-capable munition that gives non-stealthy F-16s and F-15s the ability to destroy time-critical, high-value fixed targets — air bases, air-defense sites, command posts and munitions bunkers — from stand-off ranges that keep the launch aircraft outside the engagement envelope of modern surface-to-air missile systems.

Development

The requirement for a short-notice, affordable stand-off weapon crystallized after the February 2018 loss of an Israeli F-16 to a Syrian S-200 battery, and against the backdrop of denser Russian-supplied air defenses in the region. IMI had already adapted its EXTRA 306 mm artillery rocket for air launch, marketing the concept as MARS (Multi-purpose, Air-launched Rocket System) from about 2013. In cooperation with IAI, which supplied the ADA anti-jam GNSS/INS navigation suite, the missile was formally unveiled as Rampage in June 2018, according to Airforce Technology. Elbit Systems’ November 2018 acquisition of IMI consolidated the program, and the weapon quickly became a key element of Israeli deep-strike planning.

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