Indian Army inducts Spike (ATGM) along LoC

Indian army to bolster the defense has inducted the Spike, a 3rd generation Israeli fire-and-forget anti-tank guided missile(ATGM) along the Line of Control(LoC) in the northern command theater of Jammu and Kashmir.

Designed and developed by Rafael Advanced Defence Systems, Spike with an operational range of up to 4 kilometers, can be operated as a man-portable, helicopter-launch and vehicle-launch missile variant.

Earlier in April this year during the five-day biannual Army Commanders Conference in New Delhi, the Indian Army approved the emergency purchase of 240 Spike ATGM and 12 launchers.

Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in partnership with VEM Technologies Private Limited has been developing the Man-Portable anti-tank guided missile (MPATGM) which was successfully test-fired in September 2018 is expected to be available for Indian Army by 2021.