Israeli shoulder-fired missile moves toward U.S. qualification

Rafael Systems Global Sustainment, the U.S. subsidiary of Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, won an Other Transaction Agreement through the Aviation & Missile Technology Consortium to pursue U.S. qualification of the SPIKE SR shoulder-fired missile, the company announced Sept. 22.

The agreement covers testing and adapting the missile to U.S. military requirements, but the companies did not disclose the deal’s value or a timeline for completing qualification.

SPIKE SR is a shoulder-fired, fire-and-forget precision missile weighing about 10 kg (22 pounds), with a range of roughly 2,000 meters. It uses electro-optical guidance to hit both stationary and moving targets in daylight or infrared modes, and Rafael has marketed it as easy enough for infantry units to learn with minimal training. The system is part of Rafael’s broader SPIKE missile family, which the company says is in service with 46 countries, including 22 NATO members.

“This award represents an important step in advancing the SPIKE SR capability for U.S. warfighters,” said LTG (Ret.) Joe Anderson, CEO of Rafael Systems Global Sustainment. “RSGS is proud to support the U.S. defense community by enhancing a proven, highly mobile precision missile system that addresses the operational needs of today’s close-combat forces.”

“SPIKE SR offers the type of lightweight, accurate, and soldier-portable capability that modern forces require,” Anderson added. “This effort reinforces RSGS’ commitment to delivering combat-proven technologies adapted to meet U.S. requirements.”

The U.S. Army has evaluated SPIKE SR before. Soldiers tested the missile in live fire against static and moving targets during the Army’s Expeditionary Warrior Experiment in January 2021, where Army evaluators gave positive feedback on the system’s weight, lethality, and ease of use compared to equipment already in service. That evaluation did not lead to a production contract.

This latest agreement builds on a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement that Rafael and Rafael Systems Global Sustainment signed with the Army’s Combat Capabilities Development Command Aviation and Missile Center in March 2025, covering the SPIKE LR2, SPIKE SR, SPIKE ER2, and SPIKE Firefly loitering munition. That agreement was framed around “Americanizing” the SPIKE family for potential U.S. use, and the Army has compared the missiles against existing U.S. systems such as the Javelin anti-tank missile and the AGM-114 Hellfire.