Profile
- Type
- Air-launched standoff ballistic missile
- Conflict side
- Israel
- Origin
- Israel
- Service note
- Unveiled in 2019; assessed in current Israeli Air Force service
Artillery
ROCKS
ROCKS is Rafael's Israeli air-launched standoff missile for rapid precision attacks on high-value surface, relocatable, or hardened targets from outside dense air-defense coverage. It combines GPS/INS navigation with electro-optical scene matching and optional anti-radiation terminal guidance, giving Israeli aircraft a supersonic deep-strike weapon for contested or GPS-denied environments.
- Conflict side
- Israel
- Built by
- Rafael Advanced Defense Systems
- Built in
- Israel
Service History
- In service
- Publicly unveiled at Aero India in 2019; open-source analysts assess it as an Israeli Air Force standoff strike weapon
- Used by
- Israeli Air Force
- Wars
- Israel-Iran Conflict
Production History
- Designer
- Rafael Advanced Defense Systems
- Designed
- 2010s
- Built by
- Rafael Advanced Defense Systems
- Built in
- Israel
- Variants
- Penetration-warhead configuration, Blast-fragmentation warhead configuration, Optional anti-radiation seeker configuration
Specifications
- Guidance
- GPS/INS midcourse navigation with electro-optical scene matching; optional anti-radiation terminal seeker
- Accuracy
- 3 m CEP listed in Rafael technical data
- Warhead
- Penetration or blast-fragmentation warhead with cockpit-selectable and preset fuzing
- Speed
- Supersonic
- Launch platform
- Integrated on fighter aircraft; CSIS reported certification on the F-16I Sufa
- Range
- Open-source FPRI assessment lists up to 250 km when fitted with the heaviest warhead class
Conflict Usage
- Israel-Iran Conflict
- Side: IsraelRole: Long-range standoff precision strike
Open-source reporting during Israel's June 2025 air campaign against Iran assessed that Sparrow-derived air-launched ballistic missiles were used; FPRI listed ROCKS among Israeli ALBMs presumably employed, while TWZ identified Rafael ROCKS as a fielded missile matching the debris and mission profile.
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ROCKSPublisher: Rafael Advanced Defense Systems | Note: Official product page supporting manufacturer background, role, and general system description. | Accessed: 2026-06-20ROCKS Air-to-Surface MissilePublisher: Rafael Advanced Defense Systems | Note: Official datasheet supporting guidance, accuracy, warhead, fuzing, and GPS-denied operation claims. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Rafael Unveils Stand-off "Rocks" MissilePublisher: CSIS Missile Threat | Note: Supports system background, F-16I certification context, and image provenance for the Rafael-released ROCKS photo. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Rising Lion's Air Offensive: Part IPublisher: Foreign Policy Research Institute | Note: Supports Israel-Iran Conflict use context by assessing ROCKS among Israeli air-launched ballistic missiles presumably employed in Operation Rising Lion. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Israel's Operation To Destroy Iran's Nuclear Program Enters New PhasePublisher: The War Zone | Note: Supports Israel-Iran Conflict sourcing limits by linking 2025 debris from Israeli strikes on Iran to Sparrow-derived air-launched ballistic missiles and noting Rafael ROCKS as the matching offered design. | Accessed: 2026-06-20