Israeli Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and local firm Mesko have partnered to provide the Polish armed forces with hundreds of Spike LR (long-range) missiles.
The $100-million initiative seeks to equip the military with entirely “Poland-ized” or locally-produced missiles.
Before this project, the companies had already produced over 3,000 Spike missiles for the government since 2003.
“The SPIKE Missile Family has been supporting the defense capabilities of the Polish MOD for some 20 years,” Rafael Land & Naval Systems Head Ran Gozali said.
“We are proud to be building on our longstanding partnership with Mesko, and are confident that there will be more agreements in the future.”
“Building bridges with industrial partners around the globe is part of RAFAEL’s global strategy, and here we see how those bridges enable collaboration and better defense for our friends and allies.”
The Spike LR Missile
The Spike LR is a fifth-generation missile based on the Spike stand-off, non-line-of-sight (NLOS) missile carrying up to 4 warheads and launched by a single operator.
The long-range variant can intercept targets up to 5.5 kilometers (3.4 miles) away.
It is immune to GPS jamming and can be configured to different firing approaches depending on user requirements.
Compared to its predecessor, the Spike LR has reduced weight, enabling one soldier to carry the system along with two corresponding missiles.
The weapon is used for multi-domain operations in 34 nations, including 19 in the EU and NATO.
Recent Spike Contracts in Other Countries
Israel and Greece signed a $400-million agreement last April to provide the Spike NLOS for the Hellenic Army.
In January, Finland awarded German-Israeli weapons provider Eurospike a contract to provide Spike missiles to the country’s armed forces.
In 2021, Rafael received an $80-million contract to equip an Asian military fast attack craft with Spike missiles with associated mission suites and other naval weapons.
