Lockheed Martin’s Successful Spike NLOS Test from an Apache Echo Model V6 Attack Helicopter
In a significant milestone for modern military technology, the precision strike team achieved a successful test on January 26, 2023. They fired two Spike NLOS All-Up Rounds (AURs) from the Apache Echo Model V6 helicopter at the Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona. This live-fire event confirmed the successful integration of the Spike NLOS Long Range Precision Munitions Directed Requirement (LRPM DR) system onto the Apache platform, thus paving the way for qualification testing. During the demonstration, two Spike NLOS AURs were launched from the Apache platform, engaging a stationary target in two separate scenarios. The Spike NLOS system will now undergo testing to obtain airworthiness release (AWR). Upon receiving AWR, the system will be deployed on the U.S. Army’s Apache Echo Model V6 platforms by September 2024.
Tom Bargnesi, the program management senior manager of the precision strike team at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, expressed, “The successful integration of Spike NLOS on the Apache platform demonstrates Lockheed Martin’s continued commitment to 21st-century security solutions that help our customers complete their missions. The system’s expansion onto additional platforms, along with its mission-focused defense capabilities, ensures it will help the U.S. Army stay ahead of readiness in an ever-evolving threat environment.”
The SPIKE Non-Line of Sight missile, when mounted on a U.S. Apache helicopter, has undergone testing through the Foreign Comparative Testing Program. This program has assisted the Future Vertical Lift Cross Functional Team and the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Aviation and Missile Center in acquiring, testing, and evaluating the missile.
The Spike missile is an Israeli fire-and-forget anti-tank guided missile and anti-personnel missile in its fourth generation. It was developed following lessons learned from the Yom Kippur War, which highlighted the need for a high-precision guided tactical ground-to-ground battlefield missile. Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, an Israeli company, is responsible for the development and design of the Spike missile. It is available in man-portable, vehicle-launched, and helicopter-launched variants. The “Non-Line Of Sight” version is an ultra-long-range variant of the weapon (Tamuz), with a claimed maximum range of 25 kilometers (16 miles). It can be launched from the ground or from helicopters.
The SPIKE NLOS missile supports the U.S. Army’s third modernization priority, which is Future Vertical Lift’s signature effort, the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA). The FARA ecosystem includes the Long Range Precision Munition and Air-Launched Effects. During the experiment, the AH-64E acted as the surrogate FARA, SPIKE NLOS as the surrogate LRPM, and Area-I’s ALTIUS 600 UAS as the surrogate ALE. Demonstrating this ecosystem allowed army aviation to showcase the reach, range, and lethality of both the Apache with SPIKE and the future FARA with LRPM. Today, the SPIKE NLOS missile could serve as an interim solution that exceeds the range of currently fielded systems if the army decides to purchase the missile.
