In August, Poland announced that it would purchase hundreds of the Spike tank-killing missiles through a deal whereby the Polish-based Mesko would carry out local production of missile parts and final assembly of the weapon.

The Polish Ministry of Defense had awarded a third contract order for the procurement of the long-range variant of the weapon. The exact number of missiles was not disclosed, but the contract value is said to be near $100 million, Defense News reported at the time.

The latest Spike LR deal also builds on an industrial partnership in 2020 between Israel's Spike producer, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Mesko, when the two agreed to co-produce the shoulder-launched Spike SR (Short Range) ATGM, as part of Poland's Pustelnik (short range) program. Over the past two decades, Warsaw has assembled an arsenal of nearly 4,000 Spike-type missiles.

It placed its first order for 264 long-range launchers and 2,675 missiles in 2003, followed by a second one in 2015 for 1,000 units.

The Spike Missile – Straight to the Point

The Spike series of ATGMs are lightweight, fire-and-forget tactical precision-guided missiles using electro-optical (EO) and fiber-optic technologies. The systems can be employed by infantry soldiers, special rapid reaction forces, ground forces, and helicopter aircrew.

The series includes the short-range Spike-SR missile, which has a range between 50m and 2km; the Spike FireFly miniature tactical loitering weapon with a range between 500m and 1.5km; and the medium range Spike-MR (Gill) with a range of 2.5km. The fifth-generation long-range Spike-LR2 is also noted to have a range of 5.5km, while the extended-range Spike-ER2 can strike targets between 10km and 16km.

The Spike family further includes a sixth-generation Spike non-line-of-sight (NLOS) missile with a range extended up to 50km from a helicopter and 32km from the ground.

According to MilitaryToday.com, The Spike LR system includes canisters with missiles, a Command Launch Unit (CLU), a thermal sight, and a tripod. This weapon is operated by a crew of 2. It employs infrared imaging guidance and features an added fiber-optic datalink that allows it to fire the Spike LR not only in "fire-and-forget," but also in "fire-observe-and-update" mode. The datalink further extended the maximum range of the missile from 2.5 km on the Spike MR to 4 km.

The Spike LR also has an advanced electro-optical seeker and sophisticated tracker, while it can fired in daytime and low light conditions. The missile, which features a tandem HEAT warhead, has a high hit probability against stationary and moving targets. It reportedly can penetrate more than 700mm of steel armor, even behind Explosive Reactive Armor (ERA). In its "fire-and-forget" mode the missile uses a lofted trajectory for impacts on the upper surface of the enemy tank, where its armor is thin.

The infantry manpack tripod launcher weighs about 13 kg with its thermal sight, and the missiles in their launch tube weigh about 14 kg each. This makes the Spike a man-portable system, although it is best supported by vehicles over longer distances. Aside from the manpack launcher, there are several types of vehicle-mounted launchers.

The Spike LR was based on the Spike NLOS (Non-Line of Sight) weapon, and it offers a range of 4 kilometers and has to date been acquired by 39 partner nations. Rafael has touted the missile being "widely used" in combat to engage targets including armored vehicles, enemy bunkers, and enemy radars.

The company claims more than 30,000 have been sold. It was adopted in small numbers by the Israel Defense Force (IDF) in 1998 and was declared a standard issue in the year 2000.

Rafael Advanced Defense Systems offered the Spike as a possible contender in the U.S. Army's JAWS missile program in 1996, and in January 2020, the U.S. Army revealed it would field the Spike NLOS on its AH-64 Apache helicopters as an interim solution to acquire a longer range stand-off weapon. It further helped the service define requirements for long-range precision munitions in terms of what it buys and how many it might need.

Copied by Iran

Though the Spike has been offered to various partner nations around the world, for obvious reasons, the ATGM was never offered to Iran. However, an unlicensed clone has been produced in the Islamic Republic as the Almas (Diamond). It is believed that Hezbollah captured a Spike MR during the 2006 Lebanon War and provided it to Tehran, which reverse-engineered the platform with modifications.

It is believed that Iran has provided the Almas to its more "experienced" proxies, as it can be employed to inflict severe material losses. In addition, Tehran has reportedly attempted to modify the ordnance for the Almas for drones and watercraft – where it could be utilized to threaten shipping in the regional choke points like the Strait of Hormuz, the Bab al Mandab/Mandeb Strait in the Arabian Sea, and the Red Sea.

Author Experience and Expertise

Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu.

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