DEFEA 2025: Israel’s IAI Unveils LORA Ballistic Missile System with Long-Range Precision Strike Capability.

On May 6, 2025, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) presented the LORA missile system at DEFEA 2025 in Athens, highlighting its role in long-range precision strike operations as part of a new generation of ground-based artillery capabilities. Designed as a theater-level ballistic missile, LORA (Long Range Artillery) offers states a flexible deterrent option, fitting seamlessly within strategic concepts like Greece’s planned ‘Achilles Shield’. Its combination of exo-atmospheric reach, rapid deployment, and precision accuracy positions it as a key asset in modern high-intensity conflict environments. As interest grows internationally, including from India’s Navy, LORA’s relevance as both a mobile and naval platform exemplifies evolving regional defense doctrines emphasizing responsive deep-strike capability.
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The LORA offers mid-sized militaries and naval forces a standoff strike option against hardened or time-sensitive targets, reducing reliance on expensive air-delivered assets. (Picture source: Army Recognition)

LORA is a surface-to-surface ballistic missile system designed for long-range artillery missions, deployed from mobile 4x4 launcher trucks or naval platforms. With a maximum range of 430 km and a minimum engagement distance of 90 km, it is optimized for high-precision strikes using a GNSS/INS guidance system and boasts a circular error probable (CEP) of 10 meters. Its compact design allows four sealed missiles to be carried and launched from a 16-ton flatbed vehicle, with reloads occurring in under an hour and launch preparation requiring less than 10 minutes. It integrates shoot-and-scoot tactics and provides full 360° engagement coverage without azimuth restrictions. The system’s design removes the need for missile maintenance and features all-electric drive systems, enhancing battlefield survivability and reducing logistical demands.

Initially developed by IAI’s MLM Division to provide a responsive long-range strike option independent of traditional airpower, LORA was conceptualized in response to the growing demand for rapid, deployable, and survivable ballistic systems capable of circumventing enemy air defenses. Its exo-atmospheric trajectory and terminal phase maneuvering distinguish it from legacy short-range ballistic systems. In terms of strategic implications, LORA offers mid-sized militaries and naval forces a standoff strike option against hardened or time-sensitive targets, reducing reliance on expensive air-delivered assets. Countries like Greece have shown growing interest in the system, especially as part of a broader move toward indigenous or allied long-range fires to deter regional adversaries. India has also engaged IAI via a Memorandum of Understanding with Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) for potential acquisition, suggesting broader Asian-Pacific interest in the platform.

LORA differs from comparable systems such as Russia’s Iskander or India’s Prahaar by its dual-domain deployment (land and sea), lower logistical footprint, and optional air-launched configuration (Air-LORA). The Air-LORA variant, showcased by IAI at Aero India 2025, is designed for launch from platforms like the Indian Navy’s P-8I aircraft, granting strike capability at extended ranges and greater survivability. Although LORA has not been exported as widely as systems like the ATACMS, its sealed canister design, low logistical footprint, and modular configuration make it a cost-effective solution for long-range precision strikes. Unlike its Russian counterparts, LORA has not been confirmed to carry nuclear warheads, and IAI markets it primarily for conventional precision strikes, though its characteristics could theoretically allow dual-use configurations depending on end-user policy.

In conclusion, LORA represents a modern, flexible, and high-precision ballistic missile system tailored for today’s shifting battlefield dynamics and defense procurement priorities. Its successful integration into land and sea-based architectures underscores its value as a regional deterrent asset, one increasingly relevant amid growing interest in sovereign long-range strike capabilities across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.