Spike (missile)
Spike is an Israeli fire-and-forget anti-tank guided missile and anti-personnel missile with a tandem-charge HEAT warhead, currently in its fourth generation. It was developed and designed by the Israeli company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. It is available in man-portable, vehicle-launched, and helicopter-launched variants. As well as engaging and destroying targets within the line-of-sight of the launcher ("fire-and-forget"), some variants of the missile are capable of making a top attack through a "fire, observe and update" method (essentially lock-on after launch); the operator tracking the target , or switching to another target, optically through the trailing fiber-optic wire (or RF link in the case of the vehicle-mounted, long-range NLOS variant) while the missile is climbing to altitude after launch. This is similar to the lofted trajectory flight profile of the US FGM-148 Javelin. Design. Spike is a fire-and-forget missile with lock-on before launch and automatic self-guidance. The missile is equipped with an imaging infrared seeker. The long and extended range versions of the Spike also have the capability of "Fire, Observe and Update" operating mode (also known as Lock-on  after launch (LOAL)). The missile is connected by a fiber-optical wire that is spooled out between the launch position and the missile. With this, the operator can obtain a target if it is not in the line of sight of the operator at launch, switch targets in flight, or compensate for the movement of the target if the missile is not tracking the target for some reason. Hence, the missile can be fired speculatively for a target of opportunity, or to provide observation on the other side of an obstacle. The missile has a soft launch capability – the motor  firing after the missile has left the launcher – that allows the missile to be fired from confined spaces, which is a necessity in urban warfare. The missile uses a tandem warhead consisting of two shaped charges: a precursor warhead to detonate any explosive reactive armor, and a primary warhead to penetrate the underlying armor. Currently, it is replacing aging second generation anti-tank missiles like the MILAN and M47 Dragon in the armies of the user nations. Spike missile is also equipped with heat chasing technology. The Spike system is made up of the launching tripod with its fire control  unit and the missile. There is no dedicated thermal sight on the launcher – the missile's imaging seeker is used. Altogether, the long range variant of the system weighs around . Spike can be operated from the launcher by infantry, or from mounts that can be fitted to vehicles such as fast attack vehicles, armoured personnel carriers or utility vehicles. Vehicles that are not normally fitted with anti-tank weapons can therefore be given anti-tank capability. Spike has been tested as a weapon system for the SAGEM Sperwer unmanned aerial vehicle. The Spanish Army has fitted the Spike-ER to  its Eurocopter Tiger attack helicopters. Both Israel and the United States have experimented with arming Black Hawk helicopters with the Spike missile; the US variant is used in UH-60M Battlehawk helicopters. Marketing. In order to facilitate the selling of the weapon system in Europe, the company EuroSpike GmbH was formed in Germany. Its shareholders Diehl Defence (40%), Rheinmetall Defence Electronics (40%) and Rafael via ERCAS B.V (20%). ERCAS B.V. is a Dutch holding company owned 100% by Rafael. EuroSpike GmbH is located in Röthenbach, Germany. The European variant of the Spike weapon system differs a little from the Israeli  version and is marketed under the name EuroSpike. For other areas of the world, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. is solely responsible. Variants. The reusable Command & launch unit (CLU), battery, tripod and the thermal sight are common for both MR and LR versions of the Spike missile family, each weighing , , , and respectively. Spike-SR. The short range version of the weapon was unveiled in 2012 to give infantrymen a guided missile between the larger Spike-MR and unguided rockets. The missile is for a disposable munition for use at platoon-level whose minimum range is and whose maximum range is  . It is equipped with a stiff-necked uncooled electro-optical infrared seeker and advanced tracker, as opposed to the gimballed seeker in the Spike MR/LR/ER versions. The Spike-SR does not require a separate sight, instead utilizing the low-cost thermal camera and guidance electronics strapped to the missile's nose to provide this function through a display integrated into the launcher, showing the target until launch. The warhead can either be a multi-purpose tandem shaped-charge warhead with blast-fragmentation effect or a new Penetration-Blast-Fragmentation (PBF) variant leveraged from the MATADOR's anti-structure  warhead to equip maneuvering forces in urban environments to breach enemy cover and structures with a lethal blast effect. In May 2016 Rafael concluded deliveries of Spike-SR to its first export customer, later revealed to be the Singapore Armed Forces to replace the Carl Gustaf M2. Spike-MR. The medium range version (Israeli designation: NT-Gil). The weight of the missile is , its minimum range is 200 m, while its maximum range is . It is used by infantry and special forces. Spike-LR. Long range version (Israeli designation: NT-Spike). The weight of the missile is , and the weight  of the complete system is less than . Maximum range is and it is used by infantry and light combat vehicles. It adds fiber-optic communication to and from the operator during flight. Reported armour penetration capability is more than of Rolled homogeneous armour (RHA). It is also deployed by Sentry Tech remotely controlled weapons stations along the Gaza border. In early 2014, Rafael revealed they had increased the range of the Spike-LR to , enhancing versatility on existing firing platforms and allowing it to be utilized on new ones like light helicopters. Spike-LR II. A new generation of the  original Spike-LR is in full-scale development and scheduled to be operational by the end of 2018. Spike-LR II (Israeli designation: Gil-2, גיל 2) has reduced weight to , increased range of at ground level and from helicopters using an RF data-link, warhead options of tandem HEAT with 30% increased armor penetration or a multipurpose blast warhead with selectable impact or penetration detonation fusing, a new seeker that includes an uncooled IR sensor with a smart target tracker with artificial intelligence features, the ability to fire on grid target coordinates using an inertial measurement unit for third party -target allocation, and is compatible with legacy launchers. The missile is designed with a counter-active protection system (CAPS) capability, being able to hit targets at higher impact angles of up to 70 degrees. First ordered by the IDF in October 2017. Spike-ER. Extended range or extra-long range version of the weapon (Israeli designation: NT-Dandy or NT-D). It has a minimum range of 400 m and a maximum range of . It has a larger diameter and is heavier than the other systems, and is usually vehicle mounted. It is used by infantry, Light Combat Vehicle (LCVs ), and helicopters. The Finnish Navy's Coastal Jaegers and Philippine Navy's Multi-purpose Attack Craft Mk.III also operate this version in the anti-ship role. The weight of the missile is , the launchers are and respectively for the vehicle and air-launched versions. Penetration is around of RHA. Spike-ER II. In August 2018, Rafael disclosed the development of an enhancement of the missile called the Spike-ER II. It retains the same weight, airframe, surface geometries, and propulsion unit but introduces a two-way RF data-link to increase real-time control to an extended range of  from helicopters; it also has an extended fiber optic link to increase range to from land and naval platforms. Spike NLOS. "Non Line Of Sight" is an ultra long-range version of the weapon (Israeli designation: Tamuz, תמוז), with a claimed maximum range of . It is a significantly larger missile than other Spike variants, with an overall weight of around . It can be launched from the ground or from helicopters. It was developed following lessons learned in the Yom Kippur War, which showed a need for a high-precision guided tactical ground-to-ground battlefield missile. The first variants entered  service with the IDF in tandem with the Pereh missile carrier in 1981, though the existence of both was not revealed to the public until 2011. The Spike NLOS uses a fiber optic link similar to other Spike versions, but only out to 8 km, after which it employs a radio data link for command guidance. In 2011 it also became known that in a highly unusual move, the British Army was hastily equipped with the missile for counter-mortar fire, drawn directly from IDF inventory after being exposed to increasing insurgent attacks in Iraq, beginning in 2007 three variants  of the NLOS were procured. A total of 600 missiles were acquired, the breakdown being 200 optical camera equipped NLOS MK.2 in 2007, 200 thermal imaging equipped NLOS MK.4 in 2008 for night operations (together with the MK.2 these were known as EXACTOR-1), 200 dual camera equipped NLOS MK.5 (EXACTOR-2) followed in 2009 which featured wings for slower but better maneuvering flight and a multi-purpose warhead replacing the anti-armor warhead of previous versions. For operational security, the codename of 'EXACTOR missile' was assigned in British service and it was initially mounted on launchers atop leased M113 APCs. The  MK.2 performed badly being too fast and difficult to control, the M113 overheated in the desert and had a poor resolution camera display that compared unfavorably with its contemporaries. So Britain financed the development of the Mk. 5 known in British service as the EXACTOR 2 which replaced the M113 APC with a towed trailer known as SPARC holding four missiles in a 360-degree rotating turret that could be remotely controlled up to 500m away ditching the non-standard M113 APCs altogether when in 2010 the batteries were transferred from Iraq to Afghanistan. In a deal concluded on  6 September 2011, the South Korean government had agreed to purchase an unknown number of Mk. 5 Spike NLOS missiles. Rafael is working on expanding the missile's versatility by enhancing the existing EO-IR/CCD seeker with semi-active laser (SAL) capability and different anti-armor, blast-penetration, and high-explosive fragmentation warheads to meet specific applications. In 2020 the US Army announced its intention to procure Spike NLOS missiles to be mounted on Apache helicopters. A test was conducted in March 2021 where an AH-64E fired a Spike NLOS at a target away and scored a direct hit . Mini-Spike. On 2 September 2009, at an IDF exhibition held at the 3rd Latrun annual land warfare conference, the Israeli Defense Force unveiled a new member of the Spike family of missiles – the Mini Spike Anti-personnel guided weapon (APGW). Rafael claimed that this latest member of the Spike family of missile costs and weighed only a third of the Spike-LR at , while offering a longer engagement range of when compared to the Spike-SR. It was to introduce new flight modes to enable precision strikes in urban areas, such as flying through windows or attacking an enemy  hidden behind defilade or obstacles using non-line-of-sight engagement. Mini Spike would use the same launcher and sight system of the Spike-LR, loading the missile on a special adaptor. By 2016, Mini-Spike development had been discontinued. Almas. Iran received Israeli Spike-MRs captured during the 2006 Lebanon War by Hezbollah fighters. An unlicensed variant that goes by the name of Almas (). The ATGM was unveiled in public on July 7, 2021.