Israeli navy vessel in Eilat Gulf. The Navy successfully tested two long-range anti-ship Harpoon missiles. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

JNS.org – The Israeli Navy has successfully tested two long-range anti-ship Harpoon missiles, launching them at a decommissioned Israeli naval vessel 100 kilometers (62 miles) away and hitting the target accurately.

Two of the Navy’s missile boats, INS Hetz and INS Herev, fired the Harpoon to its maximum range at the target, the INS Atzmaut, a Saar Class 4 missile ship that was deactivated about a year ago and was used in the exercise to simulate an enemy ship. It was sunk offshore following the hit.

Col. Ziv Rom, the commander of the navy’s Missile Boats Flotilla, said that “this was a unique exercise, which involved all the components of our force. The missiles accurately struck the target, an old ship that once served us well but is now at the bottom of the sea.”

The Harpoon missile system is manufactured in the U.S. and is considered the most advanced missile in the navy’s arsenal, with its own independent missile guidance method and a low-level, sea-skimming cruise trajectory.