Slovakia to Procure Rafael’s SPIKE LR2 ATGM
The procurement was carried out through the NATO Support & Procurement Agency (NSPA).
The Slovak Ministry of Defence has signed a contract with Eurospike, a European Joint Venture between Rafael Advanced Defence Systems Ltd., Diehl Defence and Rheinmettal Electronics, for the supply of the advanced 5th generation SPIKE LR2 ATGM and dismounted advanced ICLU launchers (Integrated Control Launch Units).
According to the official press release, “In April 2018 the Slovak MOD published the successful results of the field testing phase of the Slovak Turra 30 mm Remote Control Weapon Stations (RCWS) mounted on Patria vehicles including multiple launch of vehicle-mounted SPIKE Missiles from the EVPU RCWS.”
The Slovak army is the sixth armed force to choose the modern fifth generation SPIKE LR2. It is also part of the 34 SPIKE user nations.
Slovakia is also the third NATO nation which will be using the SPIKE LR2 and following the seamless transition by SPIKE Missile user nations from fourth generation SPIKE LR missiles to the fifth generation SPIKE LR2 Missile variant fired from the same vehicle or dismounted launchers.
The current contract includes dismounted launchers, signifying that the SPIKE LR2 is now the ATGM of choice both for the Slovak infantry as well as for its cavalry.
“SPIKE LR2 is a cutting-edge 5th generation, multi-platform, multi-mission and multi-range electro-optical missile, with enhanced standoff range of 5.5 km, fire & forget capabilities as well as man-in-the-loop features, such as retargeting mid-flight, attack of hidden targets beyond-line–of-sight, as well as the ability to launch to non-line-of-sight targets based solely on their geo-coordinates,” the press release added.
EUROSPIKE Managing Director, Mr. Wolfgang Herrnberger said, “We are very thankful for the confidence of the Slovak army and would like also to thank NSPA for their quick responsiveness and professionalism. This procurement by Slovakia follows past contracts of SPIKE Missile by Germany, Baltic States Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania, as well as many other European countries, which has created common ATGM capabilities within Europe, serving interoperability and potentially future cross-nation mutual support”.