In a collaborative effort between NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA), EuroSpike and RAFAEL Advanced Defense Systems, The SPIKE Missile Family’s global users gathered together in Copenhagen, Denmark for the 18th SPIKE Users’ Club Meeting. SPIKE, the combat proven RAFAEL flagship family of missile systems, is an industry leader of precise tactical missiles with a global user base. The SPIKE Users’ Club Meeting was established by global SPIKE users in 2003. The annual event allows users to engage with other user nations serving as a collaborative platform fostering partnerships among user countries, and encouraging the exchange of ideas and lessons learned from operational experiences. By leveraging the collective experience and expertise of SPIKE users, this forum empowers participants to optimize their utilization of the system, ensuring its effectiveness in addressing complex defense challenges.
A NSPA representative said, “The SPIKE Users’ Club Meeting demonstrates our dedication to fostering collaboration among the SPIKE community within NATO and beyond. By leveraging the collective knowledge and experiences of SPIKE users, we aim to enhance interoperability, operational effectiveness, and maximize the value of this cutting-edge missile system. We are pleased to partner with Rafael and EuroSpike in order to support this initiative and our customer nations.”
“This collaborative event reflects our commitment to facilitating a strong network of SPIKE users who can leverage their collective knowledge to enhance the system’s performance and contribute to each and to the global defense landscape. We are very pleased with the exchange of insights and experiences at this year’s event and welcome continued growth of the SPIKE Users’ Club”, said a representative from EuroSpike.
Eurospike is responsible for the marketing of the missiles of the SPIKE family in Europe. The missile is produced at several sites in Germany. 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.The convening of SPIKE users and Rafael’s subject matter experts and EuroSpike’s programs management creates a unique opportunity for the exchange of ideas offering invaluable insights into the operability as well as latest advancements in the SPIKE missile system. In its’ 2023 rendition, the SPIKE Users’ Club held workshops focusing on Vehicle Integration, Operations, Tactics and Doctrine, Logistics, as well as Training and Simulation — with the reveal of the newest SPIKE trainer.
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. As of 2007, it is in its fourth generation. 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. The missile can engage and destroy targets within the line-of-sight of the launcher (“fire-and-forget”), and some variants can make a top attack through a “fire, observe and update” method (essentially lock-on after launch); the operator tracking the target, or switching to another target, optically through the trailing fiber-optic wire while the missile is climbing to altitude after launch. This is similar to the lofted trajectory flight profile of the US FGM-148 Javelin.
