Rafael Unveils Multi-Missile SPIKE NLOS Launcher for Polish Tank Destroyer Tender
The new launcher and its missiles will be jointly manufactured in Poland.
IsraelDefense
| 22/06/2020
Rafael SPIKE NLOS launcher for tank destroyer. Photo provided by the company
Israel's Rafael Advanced Defense Systems said June 22 it is participating in Poland's "Ottokar-Brzoza" tender, together with Polish conglomerate PGZ, for the delivery of next-generation tank destroyers. PGZ is offering its BWP-1 and KTO ROSOMAK armored platforms for the tender.
Recently, Rafael unveiled its new multi-missile launcher design including eight ready-for-launch SPIKE NLOS missiles.
With a standoff range of 32km, SPIKE NLOS is the longest-range variant of the SPIKE family, featuring all-weather performance, enabling the weapon to effectively prosecute enemy tank formations. One SPIKE NLOS battery can cover very large operational areas, creating a significant tactical footprint, Rafael said.
SPIKE NLOS is a 5th Generation anti-tank guided missile which includes a highly advanced electro-optical guidance unit, enabling passive target engagement with no laser emission, radar signals or GPS dependence. The unique combination of standoff and EO guidance allows a SPIKE NLOS unit to launch stealth salvo attacks, engaging multiple armored targets simultaneously, breaking the enemy's momentum, according to the company.
Rafael said the system is capable of engaging line-of-sight and non-line-of-sight targets, with a choice of engagement modes using digital targeting data provided over standard secure military networks, fully interoperable with NATO.
To meet a key requirement of the Tank Destroyer program in Poland, the standoff weapon of choice must be able to cope with any type of terrain, including urban areas, as invading formations normally use such areas for quick supply. SPIKE NLOS, with its real-time data link and high quality EO seeker, facilitates engagement in urban terrain with pinpoint accuracy that is hard to obtain with laser-guided or radar-guided missiles, thereby minimizing the potential of collateral damage, and allows significantly better identification of targets as friend, foe or uninvolved, according to Rafael.
Another major differentiator of the EO guidance, the company said, is the ability of the missile, as it approaches the target area, to identify high-value targets such as enemy command & control assets, air-defense launchers and others, whose removal from the operational area dramatically affects the opponent.
The SPIKE NLOS missile is in service with numerous armed forces around the world, including several NATO members, and has been fired thousands of times in combat from armored platforms, light Special Forces vehicles, maritime platforms, and attack helicopters. The SPIKE NLOS is slated to compete in the future "KRUK" Program of the new Polish attack helicopter, Rafael said.
The new SPIKE NLOS launcher is based on a stand-alone multi-purpose launcher that can be integrated onto any current or future Polish platform as the Polish BWP-1, the KTO ROSOMAK or the Future Borsuk IFV. An important feature of the SPIKE NLOS launcher is the compatibility to other SPIKE family members in service in the Poland Armed Forces, the SPIKE LR or SPIKE LR2, allowing the unit to utilize the thousands existing in-stock SPIKE rounds from the same launching system.
The successful use of the SPIKE LR missile by the Polish Defence Forces and the fact that it is produced in Poland by MESKO, a PGZ company, lays the groundwork for future Polish production of the SPIKE NLOS missile as well the launchers, Rafael said.
The new launcher and its missiles will be jointly manufactured in Poland.
Rafael SPIKE NLOS launcher for tank destroyer. Photo provided by the company
Israel's Rafael Advanced Defense Systems said June 22 it is participating in Poland's "Ottokar-Brzoza" tender, together with Polish conglomerate PGZ, for the delivery of next-generation tank destroyers. PGZ is offering its BWP-1 and KTO ROSOMAK armored platforms for the tender.
Recently, Rafael unveiled its new multi-missile launcher design including eight ready-for-launch SPIKE NLOS missiles.
With a standoff range of 32km, SPIKE NLOS is the longest-range variant of the SPIKE family, featuring all-weather performance, enabling the weapon to effectively prosecute enemy tank formations. One SPIKE NLOS battery can cover very large operational areas, creating a significant tactical footprint, Rafael said.
SPIKE NLOS is a 5th Generation anti-tank guided missile which includes a highly advanced electro-optical guidance unit, enabling passive target engagement with no laser emission, radar signals or GPS dependence. The unique combination of standoff and EO guidance allows a SPIKE NLOS unit to launch stealth salvo attacks, engaging multiple armored targets simultaneously, breaking the enemy's momentum, according to the company.
Rafael said the system is capable of engaging line-of-sight and non-line-of-sight targets, with a choice of engagement modes using digital targeting data provided over standard secure military networks, fully interoperable with NATO.
To meet a key requirement of the Tank Destroyer program in Poland, the standoff weapon of choice must be able to cope with any type of terrain, including urban areas, as invading formations normally use such areas for quick supply. SPIKE NLOS, with its real-time data link and high quality EO seeker, facilitates engagement in urban terrain with pinpoint accuracy that is hard to obtain with laser-guided or radar-guided missiles, thereby minimizing the potential of collateral damage, and allows significantly better identification of targets as friend, foe or uninvolved, according to Rafael.
Another major differentiator of the EO guidance, the company said, is the ability of the missile, as it approaches the target area, to identify high-value targets such as enemy command & control assets, air-defense launchers and others, whose removal from the operational area dramatically affects the opponent.
The SPIKE NLOS missile is in service with numerous armed forces around the world, including several NATO members, and has been fired thousands of times in combat from armored platforms, light Special Forces vehicles, maritime platforms, and attack helicopters. The SPIKE NLOS is slated to compete in the future "KRUK" Program of the new Polish attack helicopter, Rafael said.
The new SPIKE NLOS launcher is based on a stand-alone multi-purpose launcher that can be integrated onto any current or future Polish platform as the Polish BWP-1, the KTO ROSOMAK or the Future Borsuk IFV. An important feature of the SPIKE NLOS launcher is the compatibility to other SPIKE family members in service in the Poland Armed Forces, the SPIKE LR or SPIKE LR2, allowing the unit to utilize the thousands existing in-stock SPIKE rounds from the same launching system.
The successful use of the SPIKE LR missile by the Polish Defence Forces and the fact that it is produced in Poland by MESKO, a PGZ company, lays the groundwork for future Polish production of the SPIKE NLOS missile as well the launchers, Rafael said.
