During Operation Epic Fury, the ‘Blue Sparrow’ missile, an advanced Israeli air-launched ballistic missile (ALBM), was reportedly used to assassinate Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on February 28.

India, too, is currently integrating and testing Israeli missile technology, specifically the ROCKS missile and the Golden Horizon, to enhance its deep-strike capabilities, said reports.

Crystal Maze 2: Indian Air Force’s Latest Endeavour in Aerial SuperiorityOn April 23rd, 2024, the#IndianAirForce(@IAF_MCC) successfully tested the Medium-Range Ballistic Missile#CrystalMaze2, also known as#ROCKS, with a range of over 250 km.pic.twitter.com/PXCCtv2u94

— The GEOSTRATA (@TheGeostrata)April 28, 2024

The Blue Sparrow is often called a “missile from space" due to its unique flight path. Launched at approximately 7:30 AM Iran time from Israeli F-15 or F-35 fighter jets, the missiles struck Khamenei’s compound in Tehran around 9:40 AM.

After launch, a booster rocket propels the missile to the edge of the Earth’s atmosphere (near-space). It then re-enters at hypersonic speeds (over Mach 5), following a quasi-ballistic arc that makes it nearly impossible to intercept with conventional air defences.

The missile uses GPS and inertial navigation to hit high-value, fortified targets with extreme accuracy, reportedly capable of hitting a specific room from over 1,000 km away.

Developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, the Sparrow family (including Black and Silver variants) was originally designed to simulate enemy ballistic missiles for testing Israel’s Arrow defence system before being adapted for offensive use.

India is leveraging the technology behind the Sparrow family to modernise the Indian Air Force (IAF) arsenal, primarily through the ROCKS and Golden Horizon systems, the Business Standard reported.

ROCKS Missile:An operational derivative of the Blue Sparrow/Anchor family. The IAF successfully test-fired the ROCKS or Crystal Maze 2 missile from a Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighter in April 2024. It has a range of about 300 km and is designed to strike high-value targets in GPS-denied environments using electro-optical seekers.

Source: World News in news18.com, World Latest News, World News