Israel is close to signing a deal to provide India with Spike Anti-Tank Guided Missiles (ATGM) worth $500 million, Israel Defense reported Tuesday. The deal should be finalized next month during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Israel.
“As India and Israel celebrate 25 years of their diplomatic relations, Tel Aviv has quietly emerged as one of the largest and trusted suppliers of defense equipment to the Indian armed forces, which rely heavily on imports,” The Hindu commented on Sunday.
The purchase of Spike missiles was approved by the Defense Acquisition Council (DAC), which is responsible for purchases for the Indian Army, back in 2014, but negotiations have been stuck over disagreements on cost and technology transfer.
“The Spike deal is not yet sealed,” The Hindu reported on Sunday, quoting an Indian Defense official, “but it is almost done. We expect to conclude it very soon.”
According to Israel defense, the deal includes more than 8,000 missiles, more than 300 launchers, and technology transfer, and this order is expected grow in response to the changing needs of the Indian Army – which wants to provide Spike missiles to all its 382 infantry battalions and 44 mechanized regiments.
The Spike Family, manufactured and marketed by Rafael, consists of missiles suited for several platforms, multiple ranges and a variety of targets.
Spike is a fourth generation man-portable fire-and-forget anti-tank guided missile with tandem-charged HEAT warhead. The Spike missile can be also used on board a ship, and installed in helicopters and other aircraft.
The Spike system is made up of a launching tripod with its fire control unit, thermal imaging sight and a missile. There is no dedicated thermal sight on the launcher – the missile’s imaging seeker is used.
The missile uses a tandem warhead – two shaped charges, a precursor warhead to detonate any explosive reactive armor and a primary warhead to penetrate the underlying armor. The missile has four rectangular fins for aerodynamic control at the rear, and four wings at just over halfway from nose to tail on the length of the body. They unfold as the missile leaves the launch canister. The guidance system in the nose of the Spike missile comprises a charge-coupled device (CCD) and imaging infrared (IIR) seeker. The imaging infrared provides higher sensitivity and improved thermal background rejection characteristics for all-weather day and night operation.