Spike ER
Contents
Description
Write an introduction to the article in 2-3 small paragraphs. Briefly tell us about the history of the development and combat using the weaponry and also about its features. Compile a list of air, ground, or naval vehicles that feature this weapon system in the game.
Vehicles equipped with this weapon
General info
| Missile characteristics | |
|---|---|
| Mass | 34 kg |
| Guidance | IR |
| Lock range | 20 km |
| Launch range | 8 km |
| Maximum speed | 180 m/s |
| Missile guidance time | 60 secs |
| Firing range | 8 km |
| Explosive mass | 3.31 kg TNTe |
| Armour penetration | 1,000 mm |
Effective damage
The Spike ER has a lacklustre warhead compared to its contemporaries. Other ATGMs such as the AGM-114K Hellfire II have nearly three times as much explosive mass (9.43 kg TNTe) and has more penetration, although the Spike ER's penetration is overall adequate due to its tandem warhead. A single missile may be enough to overpressure or knock out an enemy light vehicle or anti-aircraft vehicle, but against MBTs more than two may sometimes be required.
Comparison with analogues
- 9K127 Vikhr - The Vikhrs has a longer firing range (10 km vs 8 km) and has a proximity fuse against air targets, making it more versatile. The Spike ER however can be fired without maintaining constant lock all the way, letting the carrier vehicle maneuver to a safer position.
- AGM-114B Hellfire, AGM-114K Hellfire II - Both Hellfires and the Spike ERs share the same maximum firing range of 8 km. Hellfires have roughly three times the explosive mass with slightly better penetration, but the Spike ERs can be F&Fed letting the player engage multiple enemies at once if desired.
- PARS 3 LR - The closest contemporary to the Spike ERs, and for a long time the only Fire-and-Forget helicopter-mounted munition in the game. Both share similar ranges, with the PARS having a 1 km shorter range at 7 km. However, the PARS 3 LRs fly considerably faster than Spike ERs (Roughly 300 m/s vs 180 m/s) and the launch platform of the PARS 3 LRs (the EC-665 Tiger UHT) with its above-rotor gun optics are more well suited for quick 'pop-up' attacks on enemy targets. Explosive mass and penetration are near identical.
- AKD-10 - The Chinese equivalent to the AGM-114 Hellfire family, these ATGMs have a longer firing range (10 km) and fly faster than the Spikes. However, they also loft like Hellfires and as a result end up taking a fair while to arrive, meaning the player cannot engage multiple vehicles at once which sets the Spike ERs apart.
Usage in battles
Spike ERs are a fairly slow, moderately ranged fire-and-forget (F&F) capable anti-tank missiles. Due to their slow speed, enemy targets may either break line-of-sight or simply die in combat before the missiles reach their final destinations. Follow these tips to to maximize enemies knocked out if you are struggling with the missiles:
1. Try to fire at enemy AA vehicles first.
This is very obvious advice at this tier, but it is imperative to follow when playing vehicles with Spike ERs as their primary armament. Your ATGMs, while sneaky due to their IR guidance not alerting enemies with LWS systems, are ultimately very slow, and the element of surprise is vital to their successful usage. Enemy anti-aircraft vehicles usually stay in their spawn, and will tend to prefer more open areas for better firing angles - but this also means that you can simply pop up over the horizon, shoot a quick Spike ER or two at the anti-air vehicles from a safe distance, and then reposition to a different place for even greater effect. While the platforms the Spike ERs are on are no Eurocopter UHT, this kind of playstyle will at least guarantee that you won't be missiled instantly after taking off without any target prioritization in your head. As an added bonus, targeting enemy AA capable vehicles first (Tor-M1s, Pantsir-S1s, XM1069s but also vehicles like the Begleitpanzer 57 and 2S38) will enhance your own team's rotary and fixed wing strike capabilities, helping both you and your team stay alive longer and do more damage to the enemy.
2. Missile management
This part may differ based on personal experience; this is only meant to serve as a general guide on missile effectiveness. If you find your Spike ERs lacking the damage to consistently knock out enemy MBTs, you may want to consider firing pairs off at enemy MBTs for a more consistent result. Due to F&F missiles going for the centre of mass on enemy vehicles albeit with a small deviation, this may either end up not working out for you or may net you far more tanks destroyed, depending on both luck and your tactics with these missiles. It is recommended to try out the missiles for yourself while also taking note of what targets you're shooting at regularly and how well they fare against your missiles if possible. Spacing out the missiles may also help if you find yourself in the camp of firing off pairs, as it can give the enemy tank's crew time to move up into the front only for the second missile to then knock them out of the fight.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Fire-and-forget capability
- Moderate range
- Lofting means the missile goes on a top-down trajectory, aiming for roof armor and reducing the angle of impact on the UFP
- Tandem warhead
Cons:
- Slow missile speed (only 180 m/s compared to contemporaries at 330 to even 610 m/s)
- Range is shorter than some contemporaries (9K127 Vikhr, AKD-10) at 8 km compared to 10 km
- TNT payload is half to one third the size of contemporaries (3.3 kg vs 5.1 kg for the Vikhr and 9.4 kg for the Hellfire II), resulting in relatively poor spalling
- Automatic guidance always aims for centre mass, sometimes causing successive missile hits to do minimal or no damage
- Lofting trajectory makes it unsuitable for air-to-air use, and creates a missile deadzone if a target is too close
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
- Related development
- Spike LR II - Spike missile on ground vehicles
- Other missiles of similar configuration and role
- L-UMTAS - Similar range and firing speed, although has a larger warhead
- PARS 3 LR - Another fire-and-forget ATGM system on helicopters
- QN502CDD - Ground-based F&F ATGM
External links
Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:
- topic on the official game forum;
- other literature.
