Golden Horizon ALBM: Why Israel’s secret missile is a game-changer for India

Reports indicate that Israel has offered India the Golden Horizon air-launched ballistic missile (ALBM) for integration with its Sukhoi Su-30MKI fleet. If these reports are accurate, India would reportedly become the first and so far only country to receive this specific offer.

Israel has exclusively offered New Delhi the Golden Horizon air-launched ballistic missile (ALBM), designed for launch from Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighters, making India the first and only country to receive such an offer, according to open-source defence reporting. With an estimated range of approximately 800 kilometres, open-source analysts note the Golden Horizon would allow Indian Air Force strike packages to engage high-value targets deep inside adversary territory, well outside the reach of enemy long-range BVR fighters and sophisticated surface-to-air missile networks.

These reports come as India prepares to deepen its defence partnership with Israel ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day visit later this month. Discussions are expected to focus on cooperation in anti-ballistic missile defence, laser weapons, long-range stand-off missiles, and unmanned systems, areas aimed at strengthening strategic ties between the two countries.

During the visit, India and Israel are likely to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on security cooperation. However, no major defence deal is expected to be formally announced, as their broader defence collaboration, projected to be worth around USD 10 billion in the coming years, remains an evolving, long-term effort between the close partners.

Unlike cruise missiles that fly low and sustained, ballistic missiles follow a high-arc trajectory, making them far harder to intercept. Open-source defence trackers note that when launched from an airborne platform like the Su-30MKI, the combination delivers the reach of a ballistic weapon with the flexibility of air power, a capability few air forces globally possess.

At 800 km of estimated range, as reported across multiple open-source defence platforms, a Su-30MKI armed with the Golden Horizon could threaten adversary airbases, radar networks, command nodes, and logistics hubs without entering enemy fighter or SAM threat envelopes, including Chinese HQ-9 batteries deployed along contested Himalayan sectors and Pakistan's expanding air defence architecture on the western front.