Rafael Develops Ground-Based Air Defense Variant of I-Derby ER Missile

Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems said today it completed the development of the ground-based Air Defense version of the I-Derby ER (Extended Range) air-to-air missile.

During the test series concluded earlier this week in southern Israel, Rafael performed a ground launch to test the missile’s command and control, navigation, and flight trajectory capabilities.

“This week, we completed a series of tests in the development of the I-Derby missile in its latest version – ER – which allows for Beyond Visual Range (BVR) launches over 100 km. This is a key milestone in the development of a missile with some of the most advanced capabilities, giving it significant interception advantages in air-to-air battles, as well as ground-to-air air defense applications. These achievements provide significant air superiority to the fighter pilot or the air defense commander,” Brig. Gen. (Res.) Pini Yungman, EVP, Rafael’s head of air and missile defense systems division, said.

Rafael’s I-Derby ER missile is a an over 100 km long-range air-to-air missile with a dual-pulse rocket motor and an active radar seeker, providing combat aircraft with performance advantages both at short ranges or beyond visual range. The missile has fire-and-forget capabilities, allowing the operator to tackle multiple targets simultaneously. The missile’s light weight allows it to be adapted to a variety of modern fighter jets, including the F-16, F-15, F-18, Gripen, LCA, Typhoon and more.

The I-Derby ER Missile is identical in shape and size to the Derby missile currently in service worldwide. The ground-based Air Defense version of the missile can be integrated almost immediately onto air defense batteries such as Rafael’s SPYDER system, which provides air defense for ranges between 20 to 60 km. Launched from the ground, the I-Derby ER missile doubles the existing missile range, and allows target interception within a range of up to 40 km without a booster, and 80 km with a booster.

Improved-Derby ER (Extended Range)

I-Derby ER is a long range derivative of the Derby missile in operational use among several air forces worldwide. It is part of Rafael's several generations of air-to-air missile families which it has developed over the past 65 years, with more than 150 combat interceptions in Israel and around the world. This includes the Python missile family with its most advanced missile in this series - Python-5 - operational with the Israeli air force and a number of other global air forces.