More than 40 nations have purchased over 30,000 missiles since the Spike’s introduction.
The latest iteration of the Spike family of missiles has been unveiled by manufacturer Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. The “fire and forget” anti-tank guided missile could arguably be labeled as Israel’s most prominent and effective homegrown weapon. Rafael’s introduction of the L-SPIKE 4X last month at the AUSA exhibition in Washington marks a big milestone for the company. Unlike previous Spike variants, the new prototype is reportedly capable of loitering over a target before striking in a fashion similar to a “kamikaze” or “suicide” unmanned aerial vehicle. As detailed by the CEO and president of Rafael, Yoav Tourgeman, “with L-SPIKE 4X we bring Spike’s missile pedigree into a new dimension — combining the speed and precision of a missile with the persistence of a Launched Effect.”
An Overview of the Spike Series
Like many of Israel’s domestically designed military defense endeavors, the Spike family of missiles was developed during the country’s early founding days. When Israel’s Armored Corps and fleet of main battle tanks were greatly diminished during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, the Israel Defense Forces began outlining the requirement for a lethal anti-tank weapon capable of precisely taking out adversarial armored vehicles. Rafael was ultimately tasked with designing the resulting Spike platform.
The Israeli-designed anti-tank weapon uses a small fiber-optic cable that links the weapon to its launching system, in addition to a camera within the weapon itself. According to Rafael, the Spike’s operator can launch a precise strike while remaining up to 30 km away. The weapon’s operator is also able to alter the missile’s trajectory post-launch. Prior to the debut of the L-SPIKE 4x, the Spike NLOS (non-line of sight) missile represented the most advanced iteration in this series. As detailed by its manufacturer, the NLOS variant has the capability to engage non-line-of-sight targets. “With the help of images provided by various electro-optical sensors, the missile locates the target on its own, marks it, and helps the operator to neutralize it more accurately and simply.”
What We Know About the Newest Spike Variant
The new L-SPIKE 4X series is reportedly even more advanced than the NLOS variant. Rafael has said that the new weapon can engage targets as far as 40km away. Additionally, its loitering function will certainly make the 4X iteration deadlier to its targets. “The system is designed for operation in contested electromagnetic environments and GPS-denied environments and includes hardened communications to sustain control under interference,” the company added. Rafael has designated the upcoming Spike variant as a sixth-generation product that will elevate survivability for its operators as well as provide “unmatched” lethality on the battlefield.
Over the years, the Spike missile system has more than proven its worth on the international export market. Today, more than 40 nations have purchased more than 30,000 missiles since the Spike’s introduction to service during the Cold War. The US Army revealed last year its plans to adapt upcoming Spike variants to include “future enhancements and Americanization” of the munitions.
About the Author: Maya Carlin
Maya Carlin, National Security Writer with The National Interest, is an analyst with the Center for Security Policy and a former Anna Sobol Levy Fellow at IDC Herzliya in Israel. She has by-lines in many publications, including The National Interest, Jerusalem Post, and Times of Israel. You can follow her on Twitter: @MayaCarlin. Carlin has over 1,000 articles published over the last several years on various defense issues.
Image: Wikimedia Commons.
