On August 27, 2023, the Indian Army signed a contract with Kalyani Rafael Advanced Systems Pvt Ltd (KRAS) for an undisclosed number of Israeli Spike anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs). The deal is valued at 287 million Indian Rupees, which is a little over 3 million euros.
The Spike missile is a versatile weapon system developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems in Israel. It is equipped with a tandem-charge high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) warhead. The missile can engage and destroy targets within the line of sight of the launcher, and some variants can even perform a top attack using a “fire, observe, and update” method. This allows the operator to either track the target or switch to another target optically through a trailing fiber-optic wire or an RF link, as in the case of the vehicle-mounted, long-range NLOS variant.
The Spike missile system comes in various versions, including the Spike-MR with an effective firing range of 200 to 2,500 meters, and the Spike-LR with a range of 200 to 4,000 meters. The missile features state-of-the-art third-generation day and night electro-optical seeker technology, including uncooled imaging infrared (IIR), a high-resolution charge-coupled device (CCD), and an optimized tracker. This ensures a high probability of hitting both stationary and moving targets in all weather conditions.