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With the increasing defense ties between India and Israel, there have been reports of Tel Aviv supplying New Delhi with its highly classified Golden Horizon air-launched ballistic missile (ALBM) before Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits Israel in late February 2026.

An advanced ALBM, the Golden Horizon, which is thought to be based on the Sparrow target missile family of Israel and related to systems deployed in recent missions, is developed to launch fighter jets such as the Sukhoi Su-30MKI used by Indian forces. The assessments of open-source suggest that its range is 1,500–2,000 km (according to some sources, 2,000 km), permitting standoff attacks on high-value, hardened, or even deeply buried targets, such as command bunkers and fortified infrastructure, without entering nuclear ranges.

Reports in the media have indicated its hypersonic velocities at the terminal phase, which is reported to be faster than the Indo-Russian BrahMos supersonic cruise missile (Mach 2.83.0). This allows it to penetrate enemy air defenses much faster, reduces the response time, and is more survivable than traditional cruise missiles.

When combined, Golden Horizon would be a great addition to the aerial deep-strike envelope of India, an addition to the already available aerial systems such as BrahMos, Rampage, and Air LORA (already in Indian service). It may bring a powerful conventional deterrence in the multi-domain environment, specifically along disputed borders.

The proposal is an indication of how Israel would like to sell highly sophisticated technology to India under the mutual strategic benefit of dealing with a common challenge in the region. Although authorization is yet to be completed, bilateral negotiations might help spur co-development or co-procurement. This is one of the possible game changers as perceived by defense a