Military-industrial concern Rafael presented a new sixth-generation missile from the Spike series. It is expected to hit the market in early 2023.

The Spike 6 missile provides new capabilities, such as transferring flight control of the missile from one point to another, depending on terrain conditions and the missile’s aiming characteristics. “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 which target you want to hit in these few minutes. 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. It allows you to parallel launch several missiles attached to targets during flight.

So the helicopter knows from intelligence that there are targets, let’s say, tanks in a certain square of the region. He stands 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, thereby performing image processing on the warhead of the missile; this allows the database to identify marks of an enemy tank or armored personnel carrier, etc. can be used to detect

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 the commander’s tank or leading tank first, and then the side and rear hatch tanks, such a sequence disrupting the movement of enemy armored vehicles.

The same characteristics as 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. For this reason, for example, it does not have a satellite communication system, which is a weak link, because the enemy can reach the satellite frequency by interrupting 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 a third-party source, and the rocket compares the resulting image to what it actually “sees” itself. 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 mastering this feature for several 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. That being said, communication between missiles and launchers is also carried out on the basis of tactical communication, with mechanisms that allow bypassing communication jamming and blocking of control.

Spike warheads are divided into three main types: armor piercing, shrapnel and wall piercing. The anti-tank warhead weighs about 10 kg, and the wall warhead – about 15 kg.