Spike (missile)

Spike is an Israeli fire-and-forget anti-tank guided missile developed and designed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, which also fields it against some personnel targets. It carries a tandem-charge high-explosive anti-tank warhead, a precursor charge to defeat explosive reactive armor followed by a main charge to penetrate the armor beneath. The missile locks on before launch with an imaging infrared seeker, and the longer-range versions can also lock on after launch, with the operator watching and steering the missile through a trailing fiber-optic link. It is offered in man-portable, vehicle-launched, helicopter-launched and maritime versions, from the short-range SR through the MR, LR, ER and the non-line-of-sight NLOS variant, and the family is now in its sixth generation. Rafael reported more than 40,000 missiles delivered to 41 countries by 2023, with a European version marketed through EuroSpike GmbH and licence production in Singapore. The Israel Defense Forces ordered the LR2 version in October 2017.