US Army selects Spike NLOS for mobile, long-range precision strike
The US Army have down-selected the Spike non-line-of-sight (NLOS), anti-armour missile system for its mobile, long-range precision strike capability to be used from ground vehicles by infantry brigade combat teams (IBCTs).
Lockheed Martin, an American defence prime teaming with the Israeli manufacturer Rafael, bringing the capability to the US defence market, demonstrated the performance of the munition system at Dugway Proving Grounds in Utah. Operators fired three shots, all of which resulted in direct hits, including one unobstructed and two obstructed targets.
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The shots were ground-launched from an unspecified vehicle and verified Spike’s NLOS capability, which means that the missile offers a stand-off strike capability against distant or geographically concealed targets outside of the direct line-of-sight.
It is said that this sixth-generation Spike NLOS missile has a range of up to 50 kilometres (km) from a helicopter and 32km from the ground.
Effect or affordability
While many observers of the Russia-Ukraine conflict point to the rise of first-person view (FPV) uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) as a more cost-effective anti-armour solution, experts from the Royal United Services Institute in London have argued that FPVs have an unreliable effect on armoured targets, requiring multiple hits to kill.
“Operational data from Ukraine demonstrates that only approximately one in five of these munitions reaches a target, because of the manufacturing quality and reliability, the pilot skills required and the effect of EW [electronic warfare] on their control channels,” the authors weighed in a report on Mass Precision Strike (2024).
It does not help that main battle tanks and armoured vehicles are kitted with additional protective layers against the proliferation of these cheap drones. During the IDEX 2025 exhibition in Abu Dhabi, for example, the Russian state-owned defence company Rostec peddled its export version of the T-90, boasting add-on slat armour, “taking into account [ongoing] combat experience” in Ukraine.
In this backdrop, the US Army must enhance its IBCT design now that the Department of Defense have ceased procuring the M10 Booker, which would have provided the necessary mobile firepower.
Thus, Lockheed suggest that having a man-in-the-loop concept allows the user to “guide” the missile to its target while receiving real-time video so soldiers can make critical targeting decisions, or even abort the mission, while the missile is still in flight.
Transition to the US defence market
Lockheed Martin first partnered with Rafael in 2012 to bring Spike NLOS to US customers.
While defining their final requirements for a long-range precision strike missile (LRPM) programme of record, the US Army named Spike as the interim LRPM solution and will evaluate the system on AH-64E Apache helicopters.
Furthermore, Lockheed fired Spike NLOS from light combat vehicles such as the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) – so prevalent in the US Army’s ground portfolio – at a range of up to 32km.
Although the service has operated nearly 4,000 different JLTV types since 2021, according to GlobalData intelligence, the US Department of Defense still recommended cancelling future orders of the vehicle in its FY25-26 budget proposal. This decision, one of many to constitute the efficiency plans at the heart of the Trump administration, comes as automotive manufacturer AM General prepares to deliver 20,000 units of the latest JLTV A2 variant, along with 10,000 trailers.
