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; Air to surface missile (Spike NLOS)
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 Gaza War; 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict; Second Nagorno-Karabakh War; Gaza war; Iran–Israel 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	$249,966 (US Army Spike NLOS, 2022), $140,000 (German Spike LR, 2017)
Produced	Spike NLOS : Since early 1980s; Spike MR/LR/ER : Since 1997; Spike SR : Since 2012;
No. built	40,000 (2023); (7,000 fired)
Variants	See variants
Specifications
Mass	Spike ER from Helicopter : Missile Round:; 34 kg (75 lb); Launcher:; 55 kg (121 lb); Launcher + 4 Missiles:; 187 kg (412 lb); ; Spike MR/LR from Tripod : Missile Round:; 14 kg (31 lb); Command & Launch Unit:; 5 kg (11 lb); Tripod:; 2.8 kg (6.2 lb); Battery:; 1 kg (2.2 lb); Thermal Sight:; 4 kg (8.8 lb); ; Spike SR : Missile Round:; 9.6 kg (21 lb); ;
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: 30 s; Time to reload: 15 s
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 2 :; 200–5,500 m (220–6,010 yd); Spike ER :; 400–8,000 m (440–8,750 yd); Spike ER 2 :; 400–10,000 m (440–10,940 yd); Spike NLOS :; Land: 600–32,000 m (660–35,000 yd); Air: 600–50,000 m (660–54,680 yd);
Sights	10× Optical sight
Warhead	HEAT Tandem-charge
Detonation; mechanism	Piezoelectric trigger
Engine	Solid-propellant rocket
Guidance; system	Target Acquisition: Infrared seeker; CCD; ; Missile Guidance: IIR homing; CCD; CCD+IIR; ;

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 2024, it is in its sixth generation. It was developed and designed by the Israeli company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. It is available in man-portable, vehicle-launched, helicopter-launched and maritime 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.