The Spike is an Israeli man-portable fire-and-forget reusable anti-tank missile system.
History[]
The Spike was manufactured as a man-portable fire-and-forget anti-tank missile system with the ability to destroy targets within its line of sight, though little is known about its history other than that.
Design Details[]
The Spike's missile is a standard fire-and-forget type of missile with automatic guiding capabilities.
Some variants of the weapon, specifically, the medium, long and extended range variants, can either use fire-and-forget mode or alternatively a wire-guided engagement mode using fiber-optic cables. This known as a "Fire, Observe and Update." With this system, the Spike's operator can obtain a target not within their line of sight at launch (known as LOAL, "lock on after launch"), compensate for the movement of the target if somehow the missile fails to track said target and can even switch targets while the missile is still in flight.
In various nations, it is currently replacing older second-generation platforms such as the MILAN and M47 Dragon. The platform can be operated from either the ground or from vehicle mounts.
Ammunition[]
The main missile of the Spike is a tandem-charge HEAT warhead with two shaped charges; a precursor charge and a primary charge. The precursor charge is used to destroy any explosive reactive armor, while the primary charge is used to penetrate the armored surface beneath.
Variants[]
- Spike-SR
Short-range handheld disposable variant unveiled in 2012 with a range of 1.5 kilometres (0.93 miles). Uses the missile seeker for targeting rather than a separate launch unit.
- Spike-MR "Gil"
Medium-range variant with a range of 2.5 kilometres (1.6 miles).
- Spike-LR
Long-range variant with a range of 4 kilometres (2.5 miles).
- Spike-ER/NT-Dandy/NT-D
Extended range (extra long range) variant with a range of 8 kilometres (5.0 miles). Usually found mounted on vehicles.
- Spike NLOS "Non-Line Of Sight"
Extremely long range variant with a claimed range of 25 kilometres (16 miles).
- Mini-Spike
Smaller version of the Spike launcher. As of 2016, development has since been halted for the Mini-Spike.
- EuroSpike
European version of the Spike launcher. Has some differences from the Israeli model.