Rafael military-industrial concern introduced a new sixth-generation Spike missile. It is expected to be released in early 2023.

The Spike 6 missile provides new capabilities, such as transferring missile flight control from one point to another, depending on terrain conditions and missile aiming capabilities. “Spike 6”, when launched from a helicopter, reaches a range of 50 km and hits the target in 6 minutes. When launched from a ground launcher, the rocket flies about 30 km with a takeoff time of 4 minutes.

With the rocket already in flight, you can decide within a few minutes which target you want to hit. To transfer control of a missile, for example, from a helicopter to the ground calculation of missiles, it is necessary to provide a common communication frequency. Both guide points must be synchronized with the missile to transmit control. To do this, the launcher has a mission planning system that allows you to simply transfer control.

Another feature of the sixth generation Spike is the volley mode. Allows parallel launch of several missiles attached to targets during flight.

So the helicopter knows from intelligence that there are targets, for example tanks, in a certain square. It hangs in place and launches rockets behind this square. In one volley, four missiles are fired, one in front. It captures the terrain and transmits the image to the operator, who sees the targets in real time and directs each missile. The company claims that the guidance system also provides the operator with graphical tools that show him, such as the priority of targets.

Another innovation of the new missile is the integration of neural networks into the homing system, so that image processing is carried out in the missile warhead; this can use the database to detect enemy tanks or armored personnel carriers with identification marks and more.

Identifying targets by comparing images directly on the warhead gives the operator more information about direct targets during the missile’s flight, so he can choose which targets have priority and hit them. It is possible to eliminate first the commander’s tank or the leading tank, then the side and rear hatch tanks, such a turn disrupts the movement of enemy armored vehicles.

The same characteristics of the Spike 6 can be applied to enemy air defenses, armored personnel carriers, various missiles, control structures, etc. Raphael explains that this missile is designed for tactical warfare at a distance of up to 50 km on a given square. Therefore, for example, a satellite, which is a weak link, does not have a communication system, since the enemy can reach the frequency of the satellite by cutting off the missile’s communication with the operator.

Another key innovation of the sixth-generation Spikes is the ability for ground patrols to mark a pixel in a joint flight control system with a default helicopter or a distant ground launcher. The target’s image can be transmitted to the rocket in real time from an external source, and the rocket compares the resulting image with what it actually “sees”. This function maintains the coordination of tactical forces, optimizes and reduces the closing time of the ring of fire.

As for the noise immunity of the missile, in this respect there is no difference between the sixth and fifth generations. Both generations “know” to compare images, Raphael has been specializing in this feature for decades. Thanks to the image matching system, the probability of failure of the warhead guidance system is very low.

In addition, Raphael installed Spike 6 inertial navigation systems that allow you to work in the event of a GPS failure. As noted, communication between missiles and launchers is also based on tactical communication with mechanisms that allow bypassing jamming of communication and blocking of control.

Spike warheads are divided into three main types – armor-piercing, fragmentation, and building-penetrating wall-fighting. The anti-tank warhead weighs about 10 kg, and wall warfare – about 15 kg.