The Finnish Navy has recently declared the operational readiness of the new Gabriel V anti-ship missile (officially known as SSM 2020 in Finland), installed aboard missile-launcher class Hamina units undergoing modernization.
The Gabriel V will also serve as the primary anti-ship and coastal land target attack weapon for the new multi-role corvettes, currently under construction for the Helsinki Navy which will receive four samples.
The SSM 20 replaces the current M85 anti-ship missile system (RBS 15), which will reach the end of its life cycle within this decade.
Characteristics of Gabriel 5
The Gabriel 5 missile is an advanced long-range maritime attack system, capable of flying hundreds of kilometers in varying weather and sea conditions, with the capacity to engage and destroy a wide variety of targets and threats.
Gabriel 5 comes with an advanced active jam-resistant radar seeker, designed to operate in complex coastal environments, with the capability to precisely target with extreme discrimination.
The missile, equipped with folding fins, is credited with an operational range exceeding 200 kilometers, a weight around 1,250 kg, and a length of 5.5 meters.
The missile’s propulsion system is based on a turbojet allowing it to reach subsonic speeds, while the guidance system is of the GPS/INS type with waypoints for updates and accuracy.
Source and photo credit: Finnish Navy
