The IDF introduced a secret weapon that should have surprised the Arabs
Managed anti-tank missile Spike NLOS manufactured by the concern RAFAEL is the last offspring in a large family of Spike missiles that are in service with many countries, including Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Ecuador, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Romania, Singapore , Slovenia, Spain and Turkey.
However, unlike its predecessors, the Spike NLOS (Non Line Of Sight), created a few years ago, was not exhibited at gun salons and was not even introduced into the IDF arsenal for a long time. The press service of the Israel Defense Forces for the first time confirmed the presence of this type of weapon a week ago, reporting that the RAFAEL concern will present Spike NLOS on the ASH 2010 forum.
The newspaper Maariv reports today that the existence of this anti-tank missile has long been a secret to the United States. The Americans learned about it only thanks to satellite frames. In the IDF about the secret weapons, known as "Tamuz", knew a few officers.
It was first tested in combat conditions in 2006 during the Second Lebanon War, when Tamuz’s operators tried to destroy the Hezbollah militia group with missiles. Later it was decided to place the Tamuzov calculations on the border with the Gaza sector.
On the international market, the first reports of a new rocket appeared only at the end of 2009 of the year, at the arms exhibition in Singapore. Later, specialized publications reported some details about the rocket, but no information was published that was in service with the IDF.
According to Maariv, the decision to remove the secrecy from Tamuzov was made in connection with the creation of more modern systems and in order to interest recruits.
Anti-tank missile Spike NLOS ("Tamuz"). Tactical and technical data
Spike NLOS is a multipurpose multiplatform electro-optical rocket system. The abbreviation NLOS stands for Non Line Of Sight ("Out of Sight"). The system can be installed on land, air and offshore platforms at no extra cost.
The effective range of the rocket - 25 kilometers. Weight of the rocket in the package - 71 kilogram. The rocket differs in ease and low cost in service and operation.
Missiles can be supplied with different versions of warheads - cumulative, fragmentation, smart multifunctional (PBF and PBF / F). It can be induced by satellite or UAV, has its own target-fixing system and remote control.
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