Sparrow
The Sparrow (pron) target missile is an Israeli medium-range air-launched ballistic missile produced by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. The missile was used initially in 2013 as a target missile to test the Arrow anti-ballistic missile system. The missile has a modular warhead section and is capable of carrying a high-explosive warhead.
Sparrow
- Field
- target drone · air-launched ballistic missile
- Region
- United States · Israel
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Sparrow. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q2905466
In this article
Versions
Versions
There are three versions of the missile: Black Sparrow, Blue Sparrow, and Silver Sparrow, each with a different maximum range and maximum speed to simulate different ballistic missiles. Black Sparrow simulated Scud missiles. The Silver Sparrow version is designed to simulate Iranian Shahab-3 class ballistic missiles with a 1,500–2,000 km range. The Blue Sparrow has a total length of 6.51 m, weight of 1900 kg and a range of 2000 km on a high ballistic trajectory. The Rafael ROCKS stand-off range air-to-surface missile is a conversion of the Sparrow target missile into an offensive weapon. The "Golden Horizon" missile might be another Sparrow derivative, possibly designed to target underground bunkers. It was reported in February 2026 that Golden Horizon had been offered to the Indian Air Force as a long-range air-launched ballistic missile to be integrated on upgraded Sukhoi Su-30MKI platforms.
Operational history
Operational history
The Silver Sparrow version was first tested on September 2, 2013. The launch from the Mediterranean was detected by a Russian ballistic missile early warning radar at Armavir, followed by Israeli acknowledgement of the test over an hour later. The Financial Times reported experts identifying the Blue Sparrow, from its booster remnants, as the missile used in the April 2024 Israeli strikes on Iran. The New York Times reported that the Israeli Air Force utilized the Black Sparrow variant to destroy Iranian surface-to-air missile batteries during the 2026 Iran war. The Times of India further reported that a Blue Sparrow was used to kill Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei.
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Sparrow (target missile), revision 1373223368 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Black Sparrow. Gunter's Space Page. 16 juin 2013.
- 2.Black Sparrow. Deagel.
- 3.Israel Achieves First Head-On Arrow Intercept. Arms Control Association. octobre 2000.
- 4.Secret Défense. Israël aide la France à tester ses armes antimissiles (actualisé). 11 février 2012.
- 5.Guillaume Steuer. Antimissile : le SAMP/T a encore frappé. Air et Cosmos. 8 mars 2013.
- 6.ARROW Weapon System. Ministère de la Défense d’Israël.
- 7.Sparrow Targets Air-Launched Ballistic Targets. Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.
- 8.Arie Egozi. Israel conducts first launch of Blue Sparrow ballistic missile target. flightglobal.com. 15 avril 2008.
- 9.Arie Egozi. The ‘Sparrows’ helping to prepare for ballistic missile attacks. www.flightglobal.com. 3 septembre 2013.
- 10.Military briefing: the Israeli missiles used to strike Iran. Rathbone. John Paul. Zilber. Neri. Financial Times. payant. 19 April 2024. 24 avril 2024.
- 11.Silver Sparrow. militaryedge.org.
- 12.US-Israel Arrow-3 Intercepts Target in Space. defensenews.com. 10 décembre 2015.
- 13.Philippe Chapleau. En pleine crise, un test israélien de missile: de quoi détendre l'atmosphère. Ouest-France. 3 septembre 2013.
- 14.TM-91C. Gunter's Space Page. 16 juin 2013.
- 15.Arie Egozi. Israel, USA perform Sparrow target missile test. flightglobal.com. 3 septembre 2013.
- 16.IMDO and MDA Successfully Complete First Arrow-3 Ballistic Missile Defense Engagement. U.S. Missile Defense Agency.
- 17.Le missile Silver Sparrow, suspect principal des frappes israéliennes sur Doha. Intelligence Online. 10 septembre 2025.
- 18.Article auteur1=Vincent Lamigeon « Difficiles à détecter et dotés de capacités remarquables » : les Sparrow israéliens utilisés en Iran, des missiles qui inspirent la France Challenges 09-03-2026 lire en https://www.challenges.fr/entreprise/defense/difficiles-a-detecter-et-dotes-de-capacites-remarquables-les-sparrow-israeliens-utilises-en-iran-des-missiles-qui-inspire-la-france_641566 consulté le=22 août 2026 .
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
authority record
General reference
Connections
Knowledge graph
Connections
Each connection was recorded deliberately, with the basis for it kept on the internal record.
Broader subject
1- air-launched ballistic missileTerminology
Established from a fact already recorded on a verified source.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Militaria
6,095 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- space weaponTerminology
- Spada da latoTerminology
- Spade MortarTerminology
- spar torpedoTerminology
- SPAS-12Terminology
- spathaTerminology
- spearTerminology
- SPEAR 3Terminology
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own an object connected with Sparrow?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.