The Swiss Federal Office for Defence Procurement (Armasuisse) has chosen the make of the new ground-to-ground guided missile, the SPIKE LR2 from Eurospike. This system showed, according to the analysis, the greatest value of military use and it also represented the most advantageous offer on the economic level. It is planned to submit to Parliament the request for the acquisition of the weapon system within the framework of the Armaments Message for 2024. So that the Swiss Army can also fight against armored targets over long ranges, the Army must have a long-range anti-tank guided missile system.
The selected system will first be used in a mobile version by the infantry. Initially, integration into a carrier platform is dispensed with, but the SPIKE LR2 offers the possibility of subsequent installation in a vehicle. The acquisition request must be submitted to Parliament as part of the Armaments Message 2024. Acquired more than 30 years ago, the anti-tank guided missile TOW (Tube-launched, Optically-tracked, Wire-guided) was the main weapon of the Tank Destroyer 90 manufactured by GDELS-MOWAG which will be decommissioned. The Tank Destroyer 90 was acquired in 1990. In 2018, Parliament accepted the decommissioning request; this should take place from 2024.
Spike is an Israeli fire-and-forget anti-tank guided missile designed by the Israeli company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. It is available in man-portable, vehicle-launched, and helicopter-launched variants. The LR2 is the result of a long-executed strategy of continuously improving the SPIKE missile family. For the enhanced lethality the LR2 includes two unique state-of-the-art advanced and highly capable warhead configurations: a tandem HEAT (High Explosive Anti-Tank) warhead configuration, enhancing the armour penetration capability by more than 30%, and a new multipurpose blast warhead that includes controlled fusing for control of the desired effect.
In order to facilitate the selling of the weapon system in Europe, the company EuroSpike GmbH was formed in Germany. Its shareholders are Diehl Defence (40%), Rheinmetall Defence Electronics (40%) and Rafael via ERCAS B.V (20%). ERCAS B.V. is a Dutch holding company owned 100% by Rafael. EuroSpike GmbH is located in Röthenbach, Germany. The European variant of the Spike weapon system differs a little from the Israeli version and is marketed under the name EuroSpike. Additionally due to the success of SPIKE sales throughout Europe, most members of the NATO alliance are SPIKE users which ensures interoperability and also has advantages when needing to stock during exercises.
