The German army is set to purchase 1,500 Spike missiles and hundreds of launchers from Israel’s Rafael.
Eurospike, a joint venture between Rafael, Diehl Defence GmbH & Rheinmetall Electronics GmbH, signed the multi-year contract for Spike missiles and launchers in a ceremony in Koblenz in early November, Rafael said in a Monday, November 19 release.
The missiles and launchers will be manufactured in Germany.
The multi-year contract includes an order for 1,500 Spike rounds and hundreds of Integrated Control Launch Unit dismounted missile launchers. The Bundeswehr already fields the Spike, which it calls Mells.
Spike missiles
Rafael’s Spike system originated as a fire-and-forget man-portable anti-tank guided missile system with a range of 2.5-4km, depending on variant. The extended-rage variant has a range of 8km, while the non-line-of-sight variant can hit targets at up to 25km.
Spike is fielded by 28 countries including the Lithuania, Poland, Finland and Germany, and Rafael says more than 23,000 Spike systems have been purchased worldwide. The Azerbaijani Coast Guard’s Saar 62 offshore patrol vehicles are equipped with a Spike NLOS missile launcher.
In February, Latvia’s armed forces said Spike anti-tank guided missiles would be procured for its CVR-T armored vehicle fleet. Australia plans to outfit their new Boxer combat vehicles with the LR2 variant.