German Navy Tests Naval LORA Ballistic Missile at Sea

Expansion of deep-strike capabilities German Navy Test-Fires Israeli Ballistic Missile From Frigate

2026-09-05 From Veronika Maucher 2 min Reading Time

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The German Navy has successfully test-fired Israel Aerospace Industries' (IAI) Naval LORA ballistic missile from a warship in the North Atlantic, marking a significant step towards a new maritime long-range strike capability.

IAI's LORA long-range ballistic missile and its mobile launcher. The German Navy has now successfully tested the naval version of the weapon system from a frigate in the North Atlantic.(Photo: Tal Inbar/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 / CC BY-SA ) — IAI's LORA long-range ballistic missile and its mobile launcher. The German Navy has now successfully tested the naval version of the weapon system from a frigate in the North Atlantic.
(Photo: Tal Inbar/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 / CC BY-SA )

The trials were conducted overnight on 2 September as part of the Navy's Operational Experimentation (OPEX) programme. According to IAI, two operational firing scenarios were carried out, with the missiles following their planned trajectories and successfully striking their targets.

The German frigate Sachsen-Anhalt (F 224), pictured here in Hamburg harbour, served as the launch platform for the LORA missile.(Photo: Rasectos/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 / CC BY-SA ) — The German frigate Sachsen-Anhalt (F 224), pictured here in Hamburg harbour, served as the launch platform for the LORA missile.
(Photo: Rasectos/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 / CC BY-SA )

Successful first trial

The firing platform was the F125-class frigate Sachsen-Anhalt. For the trials, a dedicated launcher and command system were installed in containers on the ship rather than integrating the weapon into its existing vertical launch system. This modular approach could potentially allow the Navy to introduce a long-range strike capability without extensive modifications to existing vessels. Germany currently has no ballistic missiles in its inventory. A procurement of LORA or a derivative would therefore introduce an entirely new capability alongside Germany's existing air-launched Taurus cruise missiles and its longer-term European deep-strike programmes. In general, the Bundeswehr plans to build up Deep Precision Strike capacities.

Naval LORA at a glance

Manufacturer: Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI)
Type: Surface-to-surface ballistic missile
Platforms: Land and naval
Length: 5.2 m
Diameter: 624 mm
Weight: 1,600 kg
Range: 90–430 km according to IAI
Guidance: GPS/INS
Accuracy: CEP approximately 10 m
Propulsion: Single-stage solid rocket motor

LORA could be adapted to German requirements

Naval LORA is a surface-to-surface ballistic missile designed for precision strikes against targets on land or at sea. IAI specifies a range of 90 to 430 kilometres for the current system, while the German Ministry of Defence has referred to a potential range of up to 500 kilometres. German reports on a possible future procurement have also referred to weapons with a range exceeding 500 kilometres. “With the successful firing of a ballistic missile in the North Atlantic, we have made German naval history. I am extremely pleased with this achievement,” Navy Inspector Vice Admiral Jan Christian Kaack told the German Press Agency (dpa). The system could be successfully deployed from German naval vessels, he added, “and its potential range exceeds anything we have known before”.

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