By 22 Juni 2017
Rafael Spike SR anti-armour missile system (photo : Kementah)
Singapore Army acquires Rafael Spike SR anti-armour missile system
The Singapore Army has acquired the Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Spike Short Range (SR) manportable missile system as its next generation guided anti-armour weapon for its infantry and guards forces, Jane’s has learnt at its Army Open House 2017 event that was held in late May.
Jane’s understands that the Spike SR has replaced the Saab Bofors Dynamics 84 mm Carl-Gustaf M2 recoilless rifle in army service.
“Soldiers will be trained in the Spike SR system from June 2017,” the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) revealed to Jane’s in an emailed statement on 18 June.
The Spike SR is the latest and most compact member of Rafael’s Spike fire-and-forget missile family. Specifications released by the army describe the system as a disposable, day and night-capable weapon that is 970 mm long with an overall weight of 9.8 kg inclusive of the missile, control launch unit (CLU), and battery.
Singapore Army with Carl Gustaf (photo : Army Recognition)
Unlike the gimballed seeker installed in the Spike MR/LR/ER (medium-, long-, and extended range) missiles, the Spike SR incorporates an uncooled and fixed day/night-capable electro-optical (EO) seeker and tracker. According to company literature, the SR has a short activation-to-launch cycle of less than 6 seconds.
The baseline Spike SR configuration features a tandem high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) warhead designed to hit static and moving armoured vehicle targets. However, Jane’s earlier reported in 2016 that Rafael has introduced a new penetration blast fragmentation (PBF) warhead – employing the warhead technology developed jointly by the Singapore Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) and the company’s Dynamit Nobel Defence subsidiary for the 90 mm MATADOR (Man-portable Anti-Tank, Anti-DOoR) light support weapon – to provide troops operating in urban environments with a tactical anti-structure capability.
(Jane’s)
