An AH-64 Apache attack helicopter located in Erbil Airbase performed a flight carrying the Israeli SPIKE NLOS beyond-visual range air-to-surface missile.
The U.S. Army is fielding the SPIKE NLOS missiles acquired from Israel to provide air-to-surface capabilities at extended ranges within the scope of the I-LRPM programme.
Another effort to increase the engagement range for AH-64 is the JAGM-MR air-to-surface missile with a range of 16 km and a tri-mode seeker.
Compared to JAGM-MR, SPIKE NLOS has a range of 50 km when launched from helicopters and EO/IR guidance. However, SPIKE NLOS has a lower speed due to its high-aspect ratio fins, which promotes glide performance to achieve the long range.
There has been a trend of increasing the engagement range of air-to-surface missiles fielded in helicopters in the face of proliferating SHORAD threats. Some of the modern MANPADS can reach a range of 8 km, which intersects with the ATGMs of the current generation.
Turkiye, France, and Russia follow a similar route with new missiles like UMTAS-GM, AKERON LP, and Izdeliye 305. Such missiles' common features are ranges approaching visual range, two-way data link, better glide phase performance, and optical guidance for man-in-the-loop.
