IAI unveiled the Laser Homing Anti Tank (LAHAT) ALPHA missile on 21 October, a new variant which will double the length, weight, and range of its conventional predecessor, a beyond-line-of-sight missile that first emerged in the 1990s.
Laser-homing technology is considered a more reliable guidance method, according to IAI in their release, as it enables forces to overcome the challenges of GPS denial and limited line of sight.
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The new missile, which can be launched from 105 and 120mm launchers, comes just after the Israeli government approved the production of more Merkava main battle tanks (MBTs), a platform that is capable of launching the missile. However, the ALPHA missile can also be fired from air, land and sea.
LAHAT ALPHA is a two-metre-long, 25 kilogramme missile that can reach 20 kilometres in range. The weapon includes a large warhead, which comes in variations of anti-tank and fragmentation. It can destroy tanks, penetrate structures, neutralise coastal targets and strike fast-moving targets.
Boaz Levy, president of IAI, noted that ALPHA “reflects… capabilities that address modern army needs for volume and precision at extended ranges.”
Israeli military strategy requires longer range effects as the Army operates in urban and asymmetric environments in which militants are able to hide in or behind structures. Advanced targeting capabilities and the ability to update mid-flight are factors needed to inflict precise strikes.
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By GlobalDataExtending missile range
To this end, another Israeli defence company, Rafael presented its own extended range solution in the Spike family of missiles at the AUSA 2025 exhibition in Washington DC last week. Besides the new loitering feature of the new L-Spike 4X Launched Effect, the missile can reach 40 kilometres in five minutes, beyond the 32km range of the near-line-of-sight (NLOS) Spike missile.
In addition, the 4X missile is also much faster than the electric-powered uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) which are popularly used in the Russia-Ukraine conflict for want of more more costly missiles.
In that respect, IAI maintain that the LAHAT ALPHA has a “competitive” price, although the company to does not provide any information as evidence for the claim.
Western Europe are also prioritising the range of their anti tank guided missiles (ATGM). In September, the pan-European missile maker MBDA revealed a new version of its Akeron missile, initially a shoulder-fired capability, but now also an 120mm NLOS ATGM designed for MBTs.
The fire-and-forget munition enable MBTs to strike without exposing themselves directly, as was the conventional method of tank warfare explained one MBDA programme manager, where typically “you have got to effectively expose yourself, look the enemy in the eye, and often engage in a contact battle with them, putting at risk your circa six million euro platform and crew members.”
In the same way, based on the LAHAT missile heritage, the ALPHA variant minimises exposure of forces, giving them the ability to fire from a distant location and then leave the combat zone immediately.
