Israel’s Rafael inks €220 million arms deal with Germany

The first delivery will consist of 1,500 Spike missiles and hundreds of launchers.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

Rafael Advanced Defense Systems will supply the German armed forces with advanced anti-tank guided missiles (ATGM) and launchers in a deal worth €220 million, the company announced Tuesday.

The multi-year contract, inked at the beginning of November, was signed by Eurospike, a joint venture between Rafael and two German companies. Local companies in Germany are to benefit significantly from the deal, as they will manufacture the weapons.

The first delivery will consist of 1,500 Spike missiles and hundreds of launchers, which Rafael calls “a cutting-edge precise, multi-platform, multi-mission, and multi-range electro-optical missile family.”

Variants of the Spike missile can be launched from a vehicle, helicopter, or the shoulder of an infantry soldier. There are two types, one called “fire and forget,” where the missile is launched at a visible target, and a more sophisticated version that can locate a suspected or hidden target and lock onto it after the Spike was already launched. It is even able to fire its motor after the missile has left its launcher, which allows it to be fired from a confined space – a necessity in urban warfare.

Germany already has a number of these weapons, both of the shoulder-carried and vehicle-launched varieties, and is looking to increase and upgrade its supply.

“This is a significant contract for Eurospike and thus for Rafael, as a leading supplier of 5th generation ATGM in the world,” said Moshe Elazar, head of Rafael’s Land and Naval Division. “It will undoubtedly cement the German Army’s position as one of the strongest ATGM forces in Europe.”

Nineteen EU and NATO countries already use the Israeli-developed protective weapon, and Elazar called the Spike “a truly common European missile.”

More than 30,000 Spike missiles have been sold all over the world, according to the company, including non-European countries such as Colombia and South Korea.