Israeli developed missile on Polish APC

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Poland’s Secretary of State announced that the Polish army’s Rosomak armored vehicle will be equipped with the Rafael Spike anti tank missile. According to the Polish Defense 24,  the vehicles will be integrated with an unmanned turret system as well as with the Spike missiles, a process which will take several months. The final Rosomak will be delivered to the army starting from 2017.

The newly equipped  Rosomak Armored Personnel Carriers (APCs),  will serve to enhance and strengthen the army’s wheeled APC program. This process of modernizing the forces has been speeded up due to the Ukrainian crisis.

The unmanned turret module to be utilized by the Rosomak vehicles, was developed by HSW – Stalowa Wola Ironworks, in collaboration with WB Electronics. A demonstration of the new turret was presented during the Kielce Defence Fair, back in 2014. At the demonstration it was equipped with a 30 mm Bushmaster II cannon. The Polish Army is also planning to integrate the Spike-LR missile with the older Rosomaks, currently armed with Hitfist-30 modules.

The Spike-LR is a long range version of the missile. It weighs 14 kg, with a total weight of the complete launching system at less than 45 kg. The maximum range of the missile is 4,000 m, and it is used by infantry and light combat vehicles. When launching the missile a fiber-optic wire still connecting the missile to its launcher unreels, so that the operator can communicate with the airborne missile mid-flight.

The reported armor penetration capability of the Spike-LR is more than 700 mm.