Rafael’s new Super Ice cruise missile carries a 1,000-pound warhead, four times the weight of the original Ice Breaker’s warhead, and can be launched from aircraft, ships and ground-based platforms to strike heavily defended targets at long distances.
By Hezy Laing
Israel has unveiled a powerful new cruise missile that represents a major expansion of its long-range strike capabilities. Called SUPER ICE, the weapon was introduced on November 11 by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, adding a significantly heavier option to the company’s successful Ice Breaker missile family.
A remarkable increase in firepower
Super Ice carries a 1,000-pound (454-kilogram) warhead, four times the weight of the approximately 250-pound warhead carried by the original Ice Breaker and Sea Breaker missiles. It is compatible with the American-made MK83 bomb, a standard 1,000-pound-class munition used by Western air forces.
The scale of the upgrade is particularly striking: Super Ice’s warhead alone weighs more than the entire original Ice Breaker missile, which Rafael’s published specifications put below 400 kilograms.
The heavier warhead makes Super Ice suitable for attacking targets requiring substantially more destructive power, including fortified installations, missile facilities and important military infrastructure. Rafael’s presentation showed the missile being used against a bunker, a ballistic missile launch site and large naval vessels.
Designed to penetrate enemy defenses
A cruise missile flies at relatively low altitude, rather than following the high trajectory of a ballistic missile. By following the contours of the terrain, it can make detection and interception more difficult for enemy radar systems.
Super Ice combines autonomous navigation, low-altitude terrain-following flight and an advanced electro-optical guidance system. Its image-matching technology compares images of the surrounding area with stored information to help guide the missile accurately toward its target.
Rafael also describes the missile as capable of operating in difficult electronic warfare environments, including situations where satellite navigation signals such as GPS are disrupted. This is increasingly important as countries such as Iran invest in systems designed to interfere with modern weapons.
Rafael chairman Yuval Steinitz described Super Ice as the “best cruise missile of its kind in the world,” identifying enemy air-defense systems among its intended targets.
Air, land and sea launch capability
One of Super Ice’s biggest advantages is its ability to be launched from three different environments: fighter aircraft, naval vessels and ground-based launchers.
The Jerusalem Post has reported that the missile can be carried by Israel’s F-35, F-16 and F-15 fighter aircraft, although Rafael has not published a detailed platform-by-platform integration list.
The missile also shares launch systems, mission-planning infrastructure and logistical arrangements with the existing Ice Breaker family. This could allow existing customers to introduce the more powerful weapon without building an entirely new support system.
How does it compare with American and European missiles?
Super Ice enters a competitive market that includes the American JASSM-ER, the Tomahawk and Europe’s Storm Shadow.
The JASSM-ER, manufactured by Lockheed Martin, already carries a 1,000-pound-class warhead and is designed for long-range precision attacks from aircraft. The Tomahawk is an established American cruise missile launched from ships and submarines, while the British-French Storm Shadow specializes in attacking heavily protected targets.
Super Ice is therefore not the first cruise missile with a heavy warhead. Its attraction lies in combining substantial striking power, multiple launch options and compatibility with Rafael’s existing infrastructure. Its exact range, speed and price have not been publicly disclosed, preventing a reliable performance or cost comparison.
A growing international business
Rafael is building on an established international business. According to figures presented by the company and reported by defense publications, its Ice Breaker missile family generated more than $1 billion in orders by 2023, with more than 1,000 missiles ordered by 2024. The family has six operational international customers, although their identities have not been disclosed.
Rafael has not announced Super Ice’s unit price or identified its first customers. Company officials describe its pricing as competitive, while emphasizing that shared infrastructure can reduce customers’ integration, training and maintenance costs.
For Israel, the development has particular strategic significance. The ability to strike distant military installations, missile facilities and enemy air defenses without relying exclusively on aircraft entering defended airspace provides another important option against increasingly sophisticated adversaries.
Super Ice does not replace Israel’s existing weapons, but gives Rafael’s customers a considerably heavier and more flexible long-range precision-strike capability.
