September 2, 2009 the first year at an arms fair was held along with the Third Conference of the Military in Latrun Israeli defense concern RAFAEL introduced a new member of the family of optoelectronic Spike missiles. (Concern Raphael was created within the Ministry of Defense for more than 50 years ago and, in 2002, the year was registered as an independent company. Its sales in the past year amounted to about two billion dollars.) Since that time, the system Mini-Spike not once was presented at various exhibitions. At one of these shows creator of these lines had a chance to become familiar with this particular product, to shoot on the simulator and talk with the manager of the project Mini-Spike.
Mini-Spike has been called Mini-Spike Anti-Personnel Guided Weapon, is the first realization of the concept of wireless high-precision anti-tank guided missiles, designed for use at the company and platoon.
Portable Missile System Mini-Spike weighs around 12 kilograms and contains the targeting and launching device is designed to detect, target lock and wireless control of a rocket and two missiles in transport-launch containers. Seeker and an infrared sensor located in the transparent hemisphere in the nose of the rocket (the model exhibited at the exhibitions are not equipped transparent cap). Electronics, guidance system and servos, warhead and rocket engine housed in a small building rockets.
Complex equip the infrared seeker and IIR-type automatic guidance system, «fire-and-forgotten» with an additional channel for the wireless mode command guidance in which the goal is already in flight can be adjusted or canceled.
The highest range, according to various sources, is 1200-1500 meters, the small 200 meters. The missile with a transport-launch container weighs around 4 kg. It should be emphasized unusual shape of the container with a square section missiles. Rocket has a length of 70 cm and 75 mm in diameter. Usually fighter carries sighting complex and 2 missiles, additional missiles carried by other soldiers. Rockets can also run using a standard sighting system, tripod and launcher Spike family of missiles. By operator rocket able to hit the target at low, medium, or large angles of attack, allowing you to perfectly hit hidden targets. Unique ability is the ability to deactivate the missile warhead in flight, allowing the user to produce high-precision attack with a little low collateral damage using only kinetic energy instead of kinetic missiles explosive effect. This may be a need for a concealed effect of the introduction (no explosion), or in order to avoid the risk of not very preferred victims. (Allowing such mode, the developers apparently so convinced of the accuracy of the rocket is flat, it eliminates the very purpose of striking her on the head.) As with its predecessors, this rocket has Myagenko start and can be run from the premises.
According to the statement of the project manager, Mini-Spike is a cheap candidacy massive Spike missile family where needed «scalpel», where you have a single shot, without causing side of death and destruction, to eliminate risk of being in shelters, trenches or lightly armored vehicles. GSN allows automatic delay even chosen to move around the target.
Sighting system can be applied independently for surveillance and target acquisition. He has a number of relevant modes, including the recording and playback of video.
Mini-Spike successfully been tested in real combat criteria in the counter-terrorist operation. About the price of this complex is not reported.