The Serbian Armed Forces are considering the possibility of adopting the Israeli anti-tank missile system Spike LR2. This information was published by RTS ("Radio and Television of Serbia").
Currently, the main ATGMs of the military of this Balkan state are still produced modifications of the Soviet "Babies".
They appeared in the army of the former Yugoslavia in the 70s and were actively used during combat operations in the territories that were part of the federation of republics.
There are variants launched from ground-based portable launchers, M80 infantry fighting vehicles, BOV-1 armored vehicles, as well as Gazelle helicopters.
The latest versions have tandem combat units capable of penetrating up to 800 mm of armor behind dynamic protection. The maximum firing range is 3000 meters. Variants with a thermobaric warhead can also hit at the same distance.
This weapon is considered reliable, simple and relatively inexpensive, but, at the same time, it no longer fully meets modern requirements.
For example, the mentioned Spike LR2 has a range of up to 5500 meters and an armor penetration of more than 1000 mm. The homing head with two channels (thermal and television), as well as guidance via a fiber-optic cable, provide high accuracy of hitting at any time of the day. Israeli complexes are purchased by many countries, among which Serbia intends to join.
Alexey Brusilov
