Spike Non Line of Sight (NLOS) anti-tank guided missiles

August 5, 2023

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has received the Spike Non Line of Sight (NLOS) anti-tank guided missiles from Israel.
They can hit targets upto 50 km from a helicopter and 32 km from the ground.
The NLOS missiles are now going to be integrated with the Russian-origin fleet of Mi-17V5 helicopters.
It is a fire-and-forget anti-tank and anti-personnel missile with a tandem-charge high-explosive warhead.
It is developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, a defence technology company based in Israel.
It has features like- lock-on before launch and automatic self-guidance.
It is available in man-portable, vehicle-launched, and helicopter-launched variants.
The long and extended range versions of the Spike also have the capability of “Fire, Observe and Update” operating mode.
Significance
- The air-launched NLOS ATGMs can carry out strikes at its ground targets from standoff distances and can cause considerable damage to the enemy tank regiments and prevent their advances.