Spike (Missile)

The Spike family includes NLOS, or non-line-of-sight; ER, or extended-range; MR and LR, or medium- and long-range; and SR, or short-range variants.[1] The long-range Israeli Tammuz, also spelled Tamuz, is associated with the Spike name, while the international designation also encompasses Israel’s Gil missile family.[1][3]

Spike’s antitank role centers on precision guidance and the ability to attack armored vehicles from above, where their armor is relatively thin.[4] Its fire-and-forget capability allows a soldier to select a target through an optical or infrared viewer attached to the launch tube, after which the missile can fly to the target without further operator action.[5] Other operating modes allow the operator to remain involved after launch, including selecting a target beyond direct line of sight or changing a target during flight.[4][6]

The family’s applications extend from infantry antitank weapons to long-range precision strikes against mobile, stationary, and concealed targets.[2][7] Its development accompanied an emphasis in Israeli military thought on firepower rather than maneuver, with extended standoff intended to reduce the exposure of Israeli soldiers.[2]

Spike’s origins lie in Israeli military concerns following the 1973 Yom Kippur War, particularly the need to strike advancing Egyptian and Syrian armor accurately at long range.[8] The first-generation Tamuz project sought a missile capable of traveling 6–12 kilometers, beyond a tank’s approximately 3-kilometer shell range.[8] The original design was directed especially toward the threat of Syrian armored forces and sought to limit the firing force’s exposure while engaging distant targets.[9]

A successful missile trial took place in 1979, and the IDF received its first missiles at initial operational capability in 1982.[8] Development and early deployment were secret: an early formation used an M113 armored-personnel-carrier disguise, a subsequent configuration was disguised as a tank, and missiles were also mounted on Cobra attack helicopters.[8] Tammuz was supplied to the Moran unit of the Paratroopers Brigade; the unit moved to the Artillery Corps in 1991 and was renamed Meitar.[10] The system’s post-1982 development formed part of broader improvements to Israeli infantry antitank armament, alongside weapons identified as Small Spike, Spike, and Long Spike.[2]

A fatal rehearsal accident occurred in 1992 during preparations for a proposed operation against Saddam Hussein, when a live missile fired during a dry run killed five Sayeret Matkal commandos.[11] The missile was subsequently shelved for 12 years before returning to operational use in 2004.[11] In November 2005, Meitar fired it against two Hezbollah positions following a thwarted hostage-taking operation near Rajar.[11]

Spike was used against Palestinian targets in Gaza during the Second Intifada and against Hezbollah during the 2006 Second Lebanon War.[10] Approximately 500 missiles were fired at Hezbollah targets during that war, and the missile remained secret until 2011.[10] Its employment subsequently broadened from the original anti-armor mission to asymmetric fighting along Israel’s borders.[9]

By 2017, Meitar had conducted more than 1,000 operational activities using Tammuz.[12] An account from Operation Protective Edge described operators seeing a Palestinian woman inside a targeted structure and diverting the missile at the last moment to avoid killing her.[12] Other reporting describes extensive use in Gaza, including targeted operations by Moran and Egoz units against Qassam rocket-launching teams.[13]

Electro-optical guidance, including thermal guidance, enables Spike’s fire-and-forget mode: after target selection and launch, the missile can track a moving target through to impact.[4] In a beyond-line-of-sight mode, the missile approaches an estimated target area before the operator selects the intended target.[4] These operating options distinguish autonomous flight after launch from engagements in which the operator continues to direct the weapon.[4]

Spike LR and MR systems can share a launch station comprising a command unit, thermal sight, and tripod.[14] The system is designed to launch in less than 30 seconds, with launch-and-forget available as one operating mode.[14] The fourth-generation SPIKE-LR was described with dual day-and-night sensors and a fiber-optic connection allowing communication with the launcher and a target change after launch.[6]

On systems providing an in-flight video feed, the operator can receive real-time imagery, gather additional information about the target, and redirect the missile if civilians are identified.[13] This capability supplements the autonomous tracking available in fire-and-forget operation rather than requiring every engagement to follow the same guidance sequence.[4][13]

Launch arrangements vary across the family: described platforms include tripods, light vehicles, drones, helicopters, and naval systems, but individual configurations do not apply identically to every variant.[1][4] In trials at Rafael’s Shedma test site in the Negev, a lightweight launcher mounted on a small Tomcar field vehicle carried eight Spike NLOS missiles and fired at ranges of 25–30 kilometers.[7] The launcher was designed for adaptation to different vehicles and helicopter transport, with the intended capability of striking mobile, stationary, and concealed targets without direct line of sight and independently of GPS.[7]

The family spans the shoulder-fired Spike SR, also called Tact, weighing approximately 10 kilograms and reaching up to 2 kilometers, through the approximately 71-kilogram Spike NLOS, or Tammuz.[15] Spike LR has a reported range of 4 kilometers, while LR2 reaches 5.5 kilometers from the ground and 10 kilometers from the air.[15] An earlier description of the fourth-generation SPIKE-LR gave a range of 4–8 kilometers.[6]

The fifth-generation Spike LR2 was unveiled in 2017 with a weight of 12.7 kilograms and launch options from land, helicopters, and ships.[16] Its electro-optical seeker combines infrared and high-definition color sensors with artificial-intelligence-assisted tracking.[16] Two warhead configurations were described: a dual warhead with a stated penetration improvement of more than 30 percent over the preceding Gil generation, and a multipurpose warhead with controllable fuse and damage effects.[16] The antitank configuration was also described as a tandem HEAT warhead, alongside a multipurpose blast option.[17]

The sixth-generation Spike NLOS unveiled in 2022 increased reported maximum range to 50 kilometers from a helicopter and 32 kilometers from ground or naval platforms.[1] A single operator and launcher can fire and control up to four missiles simultaneously.[1] Target-image acquisition and matching are intended to help select a particular target among similar objects, such as a command tank within a group of tanks.[1][9]

A handover mode allows control to pass between platforms during flight: a helicopter can launch a missile, transfer control to a ground-based system, and leave the area.[18] The missile can also receive information in flight from UAVs or other aircraft, using electro-optical imagery to locate and mark a selected target.[18] These features combine extended reach with the ability to distribute launch, observation, and control functions across different platforms.[1][18]

Maoz, also called Spike FireFly, is included within the family but operates differently from conventional missile configurations: it takes off and hovers like a drone before striking.[19] This behavior is intended to help engage targets in urban settings that remain concealed and appear only briefly, such as an RPG team.[19]

Rafael, Rheinmetall, and Diehl established Eurospike in 2004 to market the missile family in Europe.[15] Rafael holds 20 percent of the venture, while Rheinmetall and Diehl each hold 40 percent; most production under the partnership takes place in Europe.[15] The arrangement provides local production and marketing infrastructure for European customers.[15]

A 2007 agreement between Rafael and Spain’s General Dynamics Santa Bárbara Sistemas covered 2,600 SPIKE-LR missiles and 260 launchers for the Spanish army, with a reported value of $425 million.[6] It also provided for the transfer of manufacturing knowledge to Spain.[6] Arms-transfer listings record Spike antitank guided missiles for Italy and Spain in 2009, Peru in 2010, and Belgium, India, and South Korea in 2013, together with production cooperation involving Germany in 2009.[20] Those listings include SR, MR, ER, and NLOS among ground-force equipment and LR, ER, and NLOS in an air-to-ground inventory.[20]

In June 2022, Spike variants had reportedly been sold to 40 countries, including 20 NATO forces, with more than 33,000 rounds produced and supplied.[1] A 2023 figure put deliveries above 34,000 and the number fired in training and combat above 6,000.[21] A June 2024 procurement account relayed a substantially larger figure of more than 80,000 missiles procured by 45 countries.[14] These dated figures reflect different reporting periods and should not be treated as a single uniform inventory total.[1][14]

As of March 1, 2023, the U.S. Army was evaluating whether to purchase Rafael’s Spike Non-Line of Sight missile for AH-64E Apache helicopters; this was an evaluation rather than a completed purchase.[22] Ukraine also requested Spike antitank guided missiles while seeking foreign military assistance after Russia’s February 2022 invasion.[22] Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the Knesset by video in March 2022 as part of that broader diplomatic effort.[22]

Spike illustrates Israel’s development of a domestic precision-strike family from a requirement to counter massed armor into systems serving infantry, ground vehicles, helicopters, and naval platforms.[2][15] Its long-range configurations seek to engage enemy forces while limiting the exposure of the firing force, a central concern in the original Tammuz requirement.[8][9]

The combination of autonomous tracking, operator intervention, and non-line-of-sight engagement gives the family applications beyond conventional tank destruction.[4][13] Real-time observation can support target reassessment during flight, while newer NLOS features allow target selection using imagery and the transfer of control away from the launch platform.[13][18] The FireFly configuration extends the family into hovering urban munitions designed to wait for briefly exposed targets.[19]

International production partnerships and sales have made Spike an Israeli defense technology with a broad overseas presence.[1][15] Its history also connects technical development to operational adaptation: a weapon originally intended to outrange enemy armor became a precision-fire resource used in asymmetric fighting on Israel’s borders.[8][9]

Spike exports became entangled in policy toward Russia and Ukraine: in 2022, Israel rejected requests to sell missiles to Ukraine and requests to approve transfers by European customers.[3] Concerns included relations with Moscow and Israel’s freedom of action in Syria; broader considerations included possible Russian capture of Israeli technology, limited spare capacity, and restrictions on Jewish emigration.[3][22] Israel requires prior approval for customers to transfer its defense systems to a third party.[3]

Spain announced the cancellation of a separate $325 million SPIKE LR2 agreement on June 3, 2025, covering 168 launchers and 1,680 missiles to be produced through Rafael’s Madrid-based subsidiary, Pap Tecnos.[23] The agreement had been signed shortly before October 7, 2023; the stated Spanish government goal was “a total disconnection from Israeli technology.”[23]

Some identifications of Spike in Gaza strike investigations remain qualified rather than conclusive.[24] Tungsten fragments allegedly recovered at Arafat City police headquarters were linked to Spike as a likelihood, not a definitive identification; evidence from a separate strike at al-Maqadmah mosque did not identify the missile as a Spike.[24] The Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs criticizes Human Rights Watch reporting that called a munition striking near a Gaza school on August 3, 2014, an “apparent Israeli Spike guided missile,” but supplies no independent identification itself.[25]

Iranian Almas-1 missiles have also been described as reverse-engineered Spike variants and linked to attacks against Israel, including strikes on January 25 and 27, 2024; the derivation remains a source-level attribution rather than independently corroborated identification in this account.[4]