Story ID: 
‘Super’ Spike missile triples range
By: David Donald
Caption: With the program having been declassified last November, the Rafael’s Spike NLOS weapon is being seen here for the first time at a trade show.
Word Count: 183
With the program having been declassified last November, the Rafael’s Spike NLOS weapon is being seen here for the first time at a trade show. The latest member of the successful missile family to emerge has an effective range of 25 km, more than three times that of the Spike-ER. The NLOS weapon is easily distinguishable from other Spike variants by having much longer folding wings.As its name suggests, Spike NLOS is a non-line-of-sight weapon, intended for use from helicopters, vehicles, surface vessels or fixed posts. Together with its launch canister it weighs about 156 pounds. Warhead options include standard HEAT (high-explosive anti-tank) rounds and advanced PBF (penetration/ blast/frag) warheads optimized for anti-bunker attacks.Unlike the other Spike versions, which use fiber-optic wire guidance, the Spike NLOS employs a radio data link. It has a dual-band electro-optical seeker that makes the weapon effective in all weathers and light conditions, and can be fired in direct attack mode, or using midcourse guidance after being launched against target coordinates only. It flies a lofted trajectory to provide a top attack capability against armored targets.