On January 19, 2022, the State Defense Investment Center of the Estonian Ministry of Defense (Riigi Kaitseinvesteeringute Keskus - RKIK) announced the conclusion of a contract worth more than 40 million euros with the Israeli-German consortium EuroSpike GmbH (a joint venture of the Israeli company Rafael and the German Diehl BGT Defense GmbH & Co. KG and Rheinmetall Defense Electronics) for the purchase of a batch of Spike-SR portable anti-tank missile systems for the Estonian Defense Forces and Kaitseliit.
Rafael Spike-SR light portable anti-tank missile system during the Spike-SR ATGM demonstration firing in Estonia in September 2020 (c) a frame from the Rafael video
It is reported that the delivery of complexes to Estonia should be started already in 2022. According to Israeli sources, the contract provides for the supply of more than 500 anti-tank guided missiles (shots) Spike-SR, as well as training shots. Demonstration tests of Spike-SR in Estonia were conducted in September 2020.
The EuroSpike Consortium has been conducting joint production of Spike family complexes in Germany since 2004, implementing them in Europe.
Spike-SR is a lightweight portable version of the Spike family of ATGMs developed by Rafael and was first introduced in 2012. The Spike-SR rocket weighs 8 kg, the weight in the transport and launch container is 9.8 kg (instead of 14 kg for the Spike-MR / LR / ER family rocket), the minimum firing range is 50 m, and the maximum range is 2000 m. A special feature of the Spike-SR is the absence of a special separate launcher with a sight - the rocket is launched from a single-use transport and launch container from the shoulder, while the target is captured before launch through the homing head of the rocket itself with the image output to a small display on the TPC. The rocket is equipped with a cheaper uncooled electron-optical infrared thermal imaging homing head of type IIR with a rigid installation, unlike the more powerful GOS on a gimbal in Spike-MR/LR/ER versions. The warhead can be either a multi-purpose tandem cumulative warhead with a high-explosive fragmentation effect, or an armor-piercing high-explosive fragmentation warhead (PBF). To date, Singapore has been the only known significant customer of the Spike-SR ATGM.
Earlier, under a 2019 contract worth 40 million euros, Estonia purchased from the EuroSpike consortium heavier, portable Spike-LR2 anti-tank missile systems with a firing range of up to 5,500 m, including 18 launchers and an unnamed number of missiles.
It is reported that the Spike-SR ATGM will be introduced into infantry companies in the Estonian army, and the ancient Swedish 90-mm recoilless guns used to date will be replaced in the Kiteselite.
Video of Spike-SR ATGM demonstration firing in Estonia in September 2020 (c) Rafael :
