Spike

Spike is a family of precision-guided missiles produced by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems , the state-owned Israeli developer based in Haifa. First fielded by the Israel Defense Forces in 1981, the line has grown from a short-range infantry anti-tank weapon into a tiered family that now spans dismounted, vehicle, helicopter, and naval applications, with engagement ranges from roughly 1.5 kilometres to 32 kilometres depending on variant. Spike is one of the most widely exported guided missile programmes in the world, fielded by more than thirty countries.

The defining feature across the family is the electro-optical and imaging-infrared seeker, paired on the longer-range variants with a fibre-optic datalink that gives the gunner a man-in-the-loop view from the missile’s nose camera. The shorter Spike-SR and Spike-MR variants are fire-and-forget weapons used at the squad and platoon level. Spike-LR and the upgraded LR2 extend reach to about four to five kilometres and add the option to retarget mid-flight, attack from above, or abort onto a safer aimpoint. Spike-ER moves the same architecture onto helicopters and light vehicles. Spike-NLOS, the largest member of the family, carries the missile out to 32 kilometres in non-line-of-sight engagements, with the gunner picking the aimpoint after launch using the seeker feed. All variants offer a top-attack profile against armour and a direct-attack mode for buildings, bunkers, and unprotected targets.

Outside Israel, the dominant operator is Poland, which selected Spike-LR for its army in the early 2000s and produces the missile under licence at Mesko; subsequent contracts have pushed the Polish stockpile past several thousand rounds. Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Finland, the Czech Republic, and Singapore field the system at brigade or battalion level, with European production handled by the Eurospike joint venture between Rafael, Diehl Defence, and Rheinmetall. The British Army acquired Spike-NLOS under the local designation Exactor and used it in Afghanistan, primarily from armoured launch vehicles. Israeli forces have used Spike extensively in Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria, and Ukraine has fielded variants donated by Lithuania, Latvia, Germany, and the Netherlands since 2022.

Development is ongoing rather than incremental. The LR2 generation, introduced in 2018, lengthens range, adds a smart target tracker, and reduces gunner workload during the engagement. Spike-NLOS has been tested as a long-range precision munition on the AH-64E Apache by both the British and US armies, where it offers a stand-off strike option well beyond the reach of Hellfire-class weapons. Among Western anti-tank guided missiles, Spike’s combination of seeker quality, fibre-optic control, and a single missile family scaling across mounts is what has kept it in continuous production for more than four decades.