Spike (missile)

Spike
Spike ATGM Command & launcher unit (CLU) with mock-up Spike-LR missile mounted on a tripod at Singapore Army Open House 2007
Type	Anti-tank guided missile
Place of origin	Israel
Service history
In service	1981–present (Spike NLOS) 1997–present
Used by	See Operators (41 countries ordered it[1])
Wars	1982 Lebanon War Second Intifada Iraq War 2006 Lebanon War War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Gaza War 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict Second Nagorno-Karabakh War Israel–Hamas war
Production history
Designer	Rafael Advanced Defense Systems
Designed	Late 1970s (Spike NLOS)
Manufacturer	Rafael Advanced Defense Systems & EUROSPIKE GmbH Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Diehl Defence *Rheinmetall Defence Electronics ST Engineering Singapore)
Unit cost	$249,966 (US Army Spike NLOS, 2022), $140,000 (German Spike-LR, 2017)[2]
Produced	Spike NLOS: Early 1980s–present Spike-MR/LR/ER: 1997–present Spike-SR: 2012–present
No. built	40,000 (2023)[3] and 7,000 fired
Variants	See variants
Specifications
Mass	Spike-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 ground:[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 fire	Ready to launch in 30 seconds, reload in 15 seconds
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 II: 200–5,500 m (220–6,010 yd) Spike-ER: 400–8,000 m (440–8,750 yd) Spike-ER II: 400–10,000 m (440–10,940 yd) Spike-NLOS: 600–25,000 m (660–27,340 yd)
Sights	10× optical sight
Warhead	Tandem-charge HEAT warhead
Detonation mechanism	Piezoelectric trigger
Engine	Solid-propellant rocket
Guidance system	Infrared homing – Electro-optical (CCD, imaging infrared (IIR), or dual CCD/IIR), passive CCD, or dual CCD/IIR seeker

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^[update], 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.