Lithuania is in advanced talks with Israeli company Rafael for the purchase of new weapon systems. Earlier this month the country received an additional batch of the Spike LR2 anti-tank guided missiles from a contract worth over €3 million. Israeli Ministry of Defence sources confirmed that Lithuania continues to receive systems included in signed contracts, but that new contracts are expected.
Up to now Lithuania has received systems with a price tag of at least €12 million under a framework contract. The deal has been signed with Rafael subsidiary EuroSpike which is a joint venture between the Israeli company and German partners. EuroSpike is a German defence company — a joint venture created in 2004 to market, sell, and produce Israel’s Spike family of anti-tank guided missiles across Europe. The LR2 is the newest-generation multirole ATGM with an extended engagement range of up to 5.5 km (up from 4 km on the original LR), tandem warhead options (anti-tank cumulative or multi-purpose), and a multi-channel electro-optical seeker with day and infrared modes, in-flight trajectory correction, and abort capability.
The missiles are incorporated into the Vilkas wheeled infantry fighting vehicle in Lithuanian service, which is a localised version of the German Boxer IFV. It is equipped with Rafael’s Samson Mk2 unmanned turret, which has two Spike LR/LR2 launchers, a coaxial 7.62 mm MG, and a 30 mm MK-44S cannon.
Arie Egozi
