Hellenic Navy will proceed with the procurement of SPIKE guide missiles from Rafael Advanced Defense Systems to equip eight naval vessels of two different types. Naval News reported that the Hellenic Navy has been planning for a year now to receive this type of missile for its vessels. The guided missile systems will significantly boost the operational capabilities of both Machitis-class gunboats and Mk V SOC. Specifically, the Hellenic Navy will install on the Machitis-class (HSY56A) patrol vessels a Typhoon MLS-NLOS system at the RHIB deck, with eight (8) SPIKE (Non-Line-of-Sight) Long-Range missiles each, for sea-to-shore fire support or sea-to-sea targeting.
The Machitis-class gunboat (also known as Osprey HSY-56A-class gunboat) is a class of naval vessel currently in service in the Hellenic Navy. These ships are similar to HSY-55-class gunboat and were also built by Hellenic Shipyards (HSY). This class of ship uses the modular concept so that weapons and sensors can be changed as required. They are the most modern patrol vessels of Hellenic Navy. The first ship of the class named Machitis (pronounced “Makhitis”) was commissioned on 29 October 2003. In 2018 all of the four ships of the class are in active service.
The Mark V SOC (Special Operations Craft) was a marine security, patrol, and special forces insertion boat used by the United States Navy and manufactured by VT Halter Marine Inc (Gulfport, Mississippi). It was introduced into service with the US Navy SEALs in 1995. It was removed from service in 2013. It is commonly referred to as the “Mark V.1 Patrol Boat” in official U.S. Navy documents. Four boats were delivered to Greece via the Excess Defense Articles programme on 6 April 2020 and are currently in use by the Underwater Demolition Command of the Hellenic Navy.
Spike is an Israeli fire-and-forget anti-tank guided missile and anti-personnel missile with a tandem-charge high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) warhead. It was developed and designed by the Israeli company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. It is available in man-portable, vehicle-launched, and helicopter-launched variants. Non Line Of Sight (NLOS) is an ultra long-range version of the weapon with a claimed maximum range of 25 km (16 mi). In June 2022, Rafael unveiled the Spike NLOS 6th generation with range increased to 50 kilometres (31 mi), a salvo feature which can launch up to four missiles at a time, and the ability to hand over control after firing to another platform.
