‘Spike’

Spike is an Israeli fire-and-forget transportable fourth-generation anti-tank guided missile. It was developed and designed by the Israeli company Rafael Advanced Defence Systems. Based on 2016 data, approximately 25,600 Spike missiles were sold to 25 countries, Azerbaijan being one of them.

The missile can be launched autonomously or guided by an operator. In the second case, the decision is made based on a video signal sent by the missile to the operator’s remote control. The operator can switch the missile to another target while the missile is climbing to altitude after launch. The missile must receive additional information to impact invisible targets (for example, from satellites or drones).

Tactical-technical specifications

In service: 1981 – Present

Variants: Spike-SR, Spike-MR, Spike-LR, Spike-ER, Spike NLOS

Range: 1.5 km (Spike-SR), 2.5 km (Spike-MR), 4 km (Spike-LR), 8 km (Spike-ER), 25 km (Spike NLOS)

Effective firing range: 1.5 km (Spike-SR), 2.5 km (Spike-MR), 4 km (Spike-LR), 8 km (Spike-ER), 25 km (Spike NLOS)

The ATGM is ready to launch in 30 seconds. It reloads in 15 seconds after each launch.