The Israeli defense giant Rafael Advanced Defense System has announced that it would be supplying Spike ATGM (anti-tank guided missiles), SPICE 2000 air to surface munitions and BNET communication systems to an Asian country.
Earlier today, Rafael announced that it was awarded a $200 million contract to provide SPICE 2000 air-to-surface systems, SPIKE ATGMs, and the BNET communications system to an Asian country.
— RAFAEL Defense Systems (@RAFAELdefense) December 23, 2020
The deal is worth $200 million, however, the customer was not revealed. Experts speculate it to be either Singapore or India, and the Philippine Navy has also been its previous customer in the region.
The Spike is a fourth-generation fire-and-forget anti-tank guided missile akin to the American Javelin system. Available in almost every launch platform ranging from Man-Portable variants to heliborne variants.
It has seen successful exports to 35 countries globally, with various versions being developed – Short Range, Medium Range, Long Range, Extended Range, and even NLOS (non-line-of-sight) variants.
In 2020 the US Army announced its intention to procure Spike NLOS missiles to be mounted on Apache helicopters.
In 1999, Singapore became the second country to acquire the Spike ATGM. Total 1,500 Spike-LR missiles (with associated launchers and training systems) were received between 2001 and 2006. Between 2017 and 2018, another 500 Spike-SR were received as the new generation anti-tank guided missile for its infantry battalions.
The SPICE family of air to ground precision munitions have been in news with the strikes by the Indian Mirages in 2019, famously known as ‘Balakot airstrikes’. Abbreviated for (“Smart, Precise Impact, Cost-Effective”), it is an Israeli-developed, EO/GPS-guided guidance kit for converting air-droppable unguided bombs into precision-guided bombs.
The contract also called for the supply of Rafael’s BNET, which is a family of Broadband IP MANET (Mobile Ad-hoc NETwork) communication systems. According to the company, it supports the modern digital battlefield’s needs with high-speed, low-delay, reliable connectivity for broadband data, voice and video on the move.
