Spike (missile)

Spike
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)
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; 2023 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	$210,000 Spike NLOS
Produced	Spike NLOS: Early 1980s–present; Spike-MR/LR/ER: 1997–present; Spike-SR: 2012–present;
No. built	40,000 (2023) 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: 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 2007, it is 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.

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); 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.

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