Pentagon eyes Bullseye as global missile race heats up fast.
On April 7, 2025, General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems [GA-EMS], a San Diego-based defense technology firm, announced a significant partnership with Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, an Israeli contractor renowned for its cutting-edge missile technology.
The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly develop and manufacture a new long-range, precision-guided missile called Bullseye, intended for use by the U.S. military and its coalition partners. This missile, capable of launching from air, ground, or sea platforms, builds on the design of Rafael’s Ice Breaker missile and promises to deliver a highly adaptable and cost-effective solution for precision strikes.
The announcement, made at the Navy League’s Sea-Air-Space Conference in National Harbor, Maryland, marks a step forward in U.S.-Israeli defense collaboration, with production slated to take place at GA-EMS’s manufacturing facility in Tupelo, Mississippi.
While the Pentagon has not yet committed to purchasing Bullseye, the missile’s advanced stage of development and Rafael’s existing orders from undisclosed customers signal its potential to reshape modern warfare.
The Bullseye missile emerges from a collaboration that leverages decades of expertise on both sides of the Atlantic. GA-EMS, a subsidiary of General Atomics, is no stranger to pushing the boundaries of military technology.
The company has a long history of developing electromagnetic systems, including railguns and aircraft launch systems for U.S. Navy carriers, as well as contributing to missile defense and space technologies. Rafael, meanwhile, brings its own formidable credentials to the table.
Based in Haifa, Israel, the company has earned a global reputation for its innovative missile systems, such as the Spike anti-tank missile and the Iron Dome air defense network, which has been operational since 2011 and credited with intercepting thousands of rockets aimed at Israeli territory.
The Ice Breaker, the foundation for Bullseye, is a fifth-generation missile already in production, with Rafael reporting approximately 1,200 units on order from undisclosed buyers, according to a statement provided to Breaking Defense. Deliveries for those orders are expected to begin by the end of this year.
What sets Bullseye apart is its versatility and maturity. The missile is designed to operate across multiple domains—aircraft, ground launchers, and naval vessels—making it a flexible tool for a variety of missions.
Its modular design allows for incremental upgrades, meaning it can adapt to evolving threats without requiring a complete overhaul. Scott Forney, president of GA-EMS, emphasized this adaptability in his remarks at the conference: “We are excited to work with Rafael to introduce Bullseye, a highly effective deep-strike missile. Bullseye will be built in the U.S. for delivery to U.S. military customers to support a variety of critical Department of Defense and coalition partners’ precision-fire missions.”
The missile has reached Technology Readiness Level [TRL] 8, a Pentagon metric indicating that it has been tested in realistic environments and is nearing operational capability.
Rafael has already conducted extensive trials on aerodynamics, propulsion, seeker technology, and launch integration, positioning Bullseye as a near-finished product rather than a speculative prototype.
Despite its advanced status, the U.S. Department of Defense has not yet placed orders for Bullseye, a detail that raises questions about its immediate future. A GA-EMS spokesperson told Breaking Defense that the company is “actively engaged with potential U.S. customers across multiple services” to explore how the missile might meet their needs.
This lack of commitment from the Pentagon stands in contrast to Rafael’s existing contracts, suggesting that while the technology is proven, its adoption by American forces may hinge on bureaucratic or strategic factors.
Forney hinted at the potential cost benefits, noting that by leveraging Rafael’s prior investment in the Ice Breaker’s development, GA-EMS can “reduce risk and development costs and provide production-scale delivery of a highly capable, high-performance precision-guided missile at significant per-unit cost-savings.”
This pitch could appeal to a Pentagon increasingly focused on affordability amid rising defense budgets, which reached $849.8 billion in fiscal year 2025, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
The absence of U.S. orders prompts a deeper look at what might be holding back adoption. One possibility is competition from established systems already in the American arsenal. The Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile [JASSM], produced by Lockheed Martin, has been a mainstay for long-range precision strikes since its introduction in 1998.
With a range exceeding 230 miles and stealth capabilities, JASSM has proven itself in conflicts from Iraq to Syria, where it was used to target chemical weapons facilities in 2018. Similarly, the Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile [LRASM], also from Lockheed Martin, offers a naval strike option with a range of over 300 miles and advanced targeting.
Both systems are fully integrated into U.S. operations, supported by years of testing and a robust supply chain. Bullseye, while promising multi-platform flexibility, must carve out a niche in this crowded field. Its modular design could be a differentiator, allowing it to adapt to specific mission profiles that JASSM or LRASM might not address as efficiently, but convincing the Pentagon to shift resources to a new system remains a challenge.
Beyond technical competition, strategic priorities may also play a role. The U.S. military is increasingly focused on countering near-peer adversaries like China and Russia, whose advanced air defenses and hypersonic weapons have shifted the calculus of modern warfare. In this context, a missile like Bullseye, with its roots in Rafael’s combat-proven technology, could offer advantages.
Yuval Miller, executive vice president and head of Rafael’s Air & C4ISR Systems Division, underscored this point: “By combining Rafael’s combat-proven innovative 5th Generation missile technologies with GA-EMS’s advanced manufacturing, assembly, integration, and test expertise, Bullseye will deliver unprecedented accuracy, flexibility, and affordability, giving warfighters a state-of-the-art missile system that hits its mark and adapts to evolving mission needs.”
The emphasis on flexibility aligns with the Pentagon’s push for multi-domain operations, where forces must seamlessly coordinate across air, land, and sea—a concept tested in exercises like the Rim of the Pacific [RIMPAC] in 2024.
For Rafael, the partnership with GA-EMS represents more than just a manufacturing deal—it’s a strategic move to expand its footprint in the U.S. market. Israel’s defense industry has long relied on domestic innovation to meet its security needs, given the country’s geopolitical position.
The Iron Dome, for instance, was developed in response to rocket attacks from Hamas and Hezbollah, with its first operational intercept in April 2011. Rafael’s collaboration with GA-EMS could bolster its global standing, positioning it as a key supplier to NATO allies and other U.S. partners. However, shifting production to Tupelo raises questions about Israel’s control over its intellectual property.
While the memorandum ensures Bullseye will be built to U.S. military specifications, Rafael must balance the benefits of this alliance with the risk of diluting its technological edge—a concern that has surfaced in past U.S.-Israeli defense deals, such as the joint development of the Arrow missile defense system in the 1980s.
The Tupelo facility itself is a point of pride for GA-EMS. Located in Mississippi’s Golden Triangle region, the Manufacturing Center of Excellence has become a hub for advanced defense production.
The site, which employs hundreds of skilled workers, is equipped to handle complex assembly and integration tasks, from electromagnetic launch systems to missile payloads. Local leaders see the Bullseye project as an economic boon, with the potential to create jobs and attract further investment.
The facility’s role reflects a broader trend of defense manufacturing returning to the U.S., driven by concerns over supply chain security and a desire to reduce reliance on foreign production—a shift accelerated by disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic and tensions with China over critical technologies.
Globally, Bullseye’s emergence fits into a larger narrative of technological rivalry. Russia’s Kinzhal hypersonic missile, deployed in Ukraine since 2022, boasts speeds exceeding Mach 10 and a range of over 1,200 miles, challenging Western air defenses.
China’s DF-17, a hypersonic ballistic missile unveiled in 2019, similarly underscores Beijing’s ambitions in precision strike capabilities. While Bullseye’s exact specifications remain undisclosed, its multi-platform design and Rafael’s track record suggest it could counter such threats by offering rapid, adaptable deployment.
The missile’s ability to launch from sea, for instance, could prove vital in the Indo-Pacific, where naval power projection is key to deterring Chinese aggression. In Eastern Europe, where NATO faces Russian forces along its borders, Bullseye’s ground-launch potential might bolster deterrence against Moscow’s growing arsenal.
Historically, precision-guided munitions have transformed warfare since their widespread adoption in the late 20th century. The U.S. first demonstrated its effectiveness during the Gulf War in 1991, when laser-guided bombs destroyed Iraqi targets with unprecedented accuracy.
Over the decades, these weapons have evolved from niche tools to essential components of military strategy, enabling strikes with minimal collateral damage—a capability tested in conflicts like Afghanistan and Libya.
Bullseye builds on this legacy, but its modular approach echoes a newer trend toward flexibility, seen in systems like the U.S. Army’s Precision Strike Missile [PrSM], which entered testing in 2019 and aims to replace aging munitions with a range exceeding 300 miles.
Imagine a future conflict in the South China Sea, where U.S. naval forces face off against Chinese anti-ship missiles. A carrier strike group, equipped with Bullseye, launches the missile from a destroyer, targeting a distant enemy radar installation. Simultaneously, an Air Force F-35 deploys another Bullseye from the air, striking a mobile command center.
The missile’s ability to adapt to both missions—sea-based and air-launched—demonstrates its potential to unify operations across domains. Alternatively, in a European scenario, ground-based Bullseye units could support NATO troops by neutralizing Russian artillery beyond the reach of conventional systems.
These hypotheticals highlight what GA-EMS and Rafael aim to achieve: a weapon that bends to the needs of the battlefield, rather than forcing commanders to adapt to its limitations.
As Bullseye moves toward production, its ultimate impact remains uncertain. The missile’s advanced stage and Rafael’s existing orders suggest a ready market, yet the Pentagon’s hesitation hints at deeper challenges—whether bureaucratic inertia, budget constraints, or a preference for proven systems.
For GA-EMS, the partnership with Rafael is a chance to cement its role in the precision-strike domain, while for Rafael, it’s an opportunity to deepen ties with the world’s largest defense spender. From a broader perspective, Bullseye reflects the ongoing race to maintain technological superiority in an era of escalating global tensions.
Will it become a game-changer, redefining how the U.S. and its allies wage war, or will it remain a niche offering overshadowed by established giants? The answer may depend less on the missile itself and more on the strategic choices made in Washington over the coming years.