Spike-LR II

Description

The Spike-LR2 (Long Range 2) is an israeli Anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) that can engage non-line-of-sight and beyond-line-of-sight targets. The Spike can also be used as a Surface-to-Air missile (SAM) against enemy aircraft, especially helicopters.

Vehicles equipped with this weapon

• KF41
• Vilkas

General info

Missile characteristics
Calibre	110 mm
Projectile mass	13 kg
Maximum speed	180 m/s
Guidance	IR
Lock range	20.00 km
Missile guidance time	35 secs
Explosive mass	1.27 kg TNTe
Fuse sensitivity	0.01 mm
Fuse delay	0.4 m
Armour penetration	700 mm

Effective damage

The LR2 features a tandem HEAT warhead. But since most enemies the missile faces, have decent HEAT protection, it will often only cause critical damage to an enemy tank (as far as light tanks aren’t concerned) instead of destroying it.

Comparison with analogues

The Spike-LR2 is only one of many Spike missile system variants. Currently in game, besides the LR2, are the Spike-MR and the Spike ER missiles, both of which are part of the Spike missile family.

Usage in battles

The Spike-LR2 can be used as an ATGM against enemy tanks as well as a SAM against enemy aircraft.

Using the Spike against tanks

The LR2 is best to be used as a long-range missile against distant enemy tanks. If used at tanks that are closer than 300m, the missile is going to miss. Furthermore, if the missile hits an enemy tank, it is most likely to only do critical damage to the tank instead of destroying it. So it is best to use the Spike-LR2 against light tanks, IFVs and SPAAs, as these vehicles often barely have any armour that can stop the missile from penetrating. To get the maximum out of your Spikes, you will have to search for enemy tanks with your scouting device or commander optics and, when you found yourself a suitable target, peek out of your spot and fire the LR2. Since its a fire-and-forget missile, you won't have to think about it after shooting. While waiting for your missile to hit, search for other targets and repeat the process.

Using the Spike against helicopters

If you want to use the LR2 against enemy aircraft, it is best to look for helicopters since those are barely manuverable. Search the skies for any incoming helicopter and then missile it. Since the missile is IR-guided, it will not activate the RWR of the helicopter making it extremely effective against unaware players.

Using the Spike against planes

When you want to use the Spike against enemy planes however, you will have to time the launch correctly, to get the best chances for a kill. A plane, that is already close to the battlefield is most likely going to see the launched Spike-LR2 and be able to evade it with ease (either by flaring or outmanouvering as the LR2 doesn't have a high G-overload). With that being said, you should focus on unsuspecting planes that are on their way to the battlefield. Since the missile has a long guidance time and doesn’t trigger the planes RWR, it can be shot at distant aircraft. But keep in mind, that the LR2 is relatively slow, so it will take the missile a while to get to the target. If the enemy aircraft notices the it in this time and takes immediate actions to counter it, the Spike is most likely also going to miss.

All in all it is best to use the Spike-LR2 against light tanks and IFVs. Also keep in mind that the missile must be shot at targets further away than 300m. If you want to use the missile against aircraft, you should really focus on incoming helicopters rather than planes because those (as mentioned before) will most likely be able to evade it.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Fire-and-forget guidance
• Tandem warhead
• Since the Spike is IR guided, it won‘t trigger an enemy’s RWR

Cons:

• Slow flight speed
• Rarely destroys a tank first-hit

History

Examine the history of the creation and combat usage of the weapon in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the weapon and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Weapon-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />.

Media

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

See also

• Spike ER (other Spike version on helicopter)
• Spike-MR (other Spike version on ground vehicle)

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• other literature.