Spike (missile)

For the U.S. Navy-designed missile of the same name, see NAVAIR Spike.

Spike
Spike ATGM Command & launcher unit (CLU) with mock-up Spike LR missile mounted on a tripod at Singapore Army Open House 2007
TypeAnti-tank guided missile
Place of originIsrael
Service history
In service
  • 1981–present (Spike NLOS)
  • 1997–present
Used bySee Operators (41 countries ordered it[1])
Wars
Production history
DesignerRafael Advanced Defense Systems
DesignedLate 1970s (Spike NLOS)
ManufacturerRafael Advanced Defense Systems & EUROSPIKE GmbH
Unit cost$249,966 (US Army Spike NLOS, 2022), $140,000 (German Spike LR, 2017)[2]
Produced
  • Spike NLOS: since early 1980s
  • Spike MR/LR/ER: since 1997
  • Spike SR: since 2012
No. built40,000 (2023)[3]
(7,000 fired)
VariantsSee variants
Specifications
MassSpike ER from helicopter:
  • Missile in canister:
    34 kg (74 lb 15 oz)
  • Launcher:
    55 kg (121 lb 4 oz)
  • Launcher + 4 missiles:
    187 kg (412 lb 4 oz)

Spike MR/LR from tripod:[4]

  • Missile round:
    14 kg (30 lb 14 oz)
  • Command & launch unit (CLU):
    5 kg (11 lb 0 oz)
  • Tripod:
    2.8 kg (6 lb 3 oz)
  • Battery:
    1 kg (2 lb 3 oz)
  • Thermal sight:
    4 kg (8 lb 13 oz)

Spike SR:

  • Missile in canister:
    9.6 kg (21 lb 3 oz)
Length
  • Spike MR/LR:
    1,200 mm (3 ft 11 in)
  • Spike ER:
    1,670 mm (5 ft 6 in)
Diameter
  • Spike MR/LR: 130 mm (5.1 in)
  • Spike ER: 170 mm (6.7 in)
Rate of fireReady to launch in 30 seconds, 15 seconds to reload
Effective firing range
  • Spike SR:
    50–1,500 m (55–1,640 yd)
  • Spike MR: 200–2,500 m (220–2,730 yd)
  • Spike LR: 200–4,000 m (220–4,370 yd)
  • Spike LR 2: 200–5,500 m (220–6,010 yd)
  • Spike ER: 400–8,000 m (440–8,750 yd)
  • Spike ER 2: 400–10,000 m (440–10,940 yd)
  • Spike NLOS: 600–25,000 m (660–27,340 yd)
Sights10× optical sight
WarheadHEAT Tandem-charge
Detonation
mechanism
Piezoelectric trigger
EngineSolid-propellant rocket
Guidance
system
Target acquisition (day and night capacity):

Missile guidance:

Spike (Hebrew: ספייק) is an Israeli fire-and-forget anti-tank guided missile and anti-personnel missile with a tandem-charge high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) warhead. As of 2024, it is in its sixth generation.[5] It was developed and designed by the Israeli company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. It is available in man-portable, vehicle-launched, helicopter-launched and maritime variants.

The missile can engage and destroy targets within the line-of-sight of the launcher ("fire-and-forget"), and some variants can make a top attack through a "fire, observe and update" method (essentially lock-on after launch);[5] 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.

  1. ^ "Rafael wins naval maintenance and anti-tank missile deals". GLOBES. 13 August 2023. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  2. ^ "NT Spike" (PDF). World Missiles & UAVs Briefing. Fairfax, Virginia: Teal Group. March 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  3. ^ "Rafael wins naval maintenance and anti-tank missile deals". GLOBES. 13 August 2023. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  4. ^ "A multitude of launchers – for a multitude of use". EuroSpike GmbH. Archived from the original on 10 July 2011. Retrieved 29 June 2010.
  5. ^ a b https://www.rafael.co.il/system/spike-nlos/ [bare URL]