The strategic importance of this capability cannot be overstated, as it eliminates the vulnerability of fixed launch sites and allows attacks from any direction.
By Hezy Laing
Only three militaries in the world are confirmed to possess operational air-launched ballistic missiles (ALBMs): Israel, Russia, and China.
This exclusive capability places the IDF in a strategic tier above nearly all other nations, including major powers like the United States, which canceled its AGM-183 ARRW hypersonic program in 2025 due to funding issues and a reliance on existing cruise missile arsenals.
According to reports from June 2026, Iran explicitly accused Israel of utilizing these rare weapons during a recent strike, highlighting their operational reality despite Israel’s policy of neither confirming nor denying specific weapon deployments.
The technical barrier to developing ALBMs is exceptionally high because it requires the seamless integration of complex guidance systems, powerful rocket motors, and heavy warheads onto aircraft platforms without compromising flight stability or safety.
Unlike ground-launched ballistic missiles that follow a fixed trajectory from known silos, or slower cruise missiles that can be intercepted more easily due to their lower speed, ALBMs combine the speed of ballistic flight with the mobility of air power.
Jeffrey Lewis, director of a California-based research institute, noted that while accuracy was historically a disadvantage for air-launched systems, modern advancements have solved this issue, allowing for precise high-speed penetration that overwhelms dense air-defense networks.
The difficulty lies in creating a weapon that can be fired from a fighter jet, such as an F-15 Eagle or F-35 Lightning II, and achieve supersonic trajectories that leave enemy radar and interceptors with minimal reaction time.
The strategic importance of this capability cannot be overstated, as it eliminates the vulnerability of fixed launch sites and allows attacks from any direction.
Uzi Rubin, a two-time recipient of the Israel Defense Prize and the first head of the Homa Administration which developed the Arrow missile, explained that aircraft launchers make defense significantly more difficult because the missiles can approach from unexpected vectors.
Israel’s specific arsenal reportedly includes the Rafael Advanced Defense Systems “Ankor” (Sparrow), originally a target missile; the “Rampage” produced by Elbit Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries with a range of 150 kilometers; and the “Rocks” missile, also by Rafael, which is based on the Ankor platform.
The Rocks missile was unveiled in 2019 and is designed to strike high-value stationary or relocatable targets well outside enemy air-defense coverage zones, even in environments with heavy electronic countermeasures.
Leaked Pentagon documents from two years prior referenced a system called “Golden Horizon,” linking it to these advanced Israeli capabilities.
During Operation “Summit of Fire,” reports indicated that eight F-15s and four F-35s launched such missiles over Saudi Arabia to strike a Hamas leadership facility in Doha, Qatar, demonstrating the weapon’s long-range precision.
Regarding Turkey, current available information does not list it among the three nations possessing operational air-launched ballistic missiles.
While Turkey has developed significant indigenous defense industries and produces various ballistic and cruise missiles, it has not yet publicly demonstrated or been confirmed by international defense analysts to have deployed an operational ALBM system comparable to the Russian, Chinese, or Israeli models.
However, Turkey is preparing to test the ROKETSAN 300 ER air-launched ballistic missile later in 2026, a milestone that signals Ankara’s potential entry into this exclusive club.
The 300 ER, unveiled at IDEF 2025, is designed for F-16 and Kızılelma UCAV integration with a range surpassing 500 kilometers, but it remains in the testing phase as of July 2026.
The exclusivity of this club remains defined by the extreme engineering challenges and the specific strategic doctrine required to field such weapons effectively.
