Israel does not ban Estonia from delivering Spike anti-tank missiles to Ukraine


According to information published by "The Jerusalem Post" on May 2, 2022, Israel does not ban Estonia to deliver Israeli weapons like the Spike anti-tank missile coming from the Estonian army military inventory.
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Israeli-made Rafael Spike-LR launcher unit. (Picture source Rafael)


Citing information from The Jerusalem Post Estonia has bought a large number of Israeli weapons in the past year, including more than 500 Spike anti-tank missiles and the Blue Spear missile system for coastal defense.

According to the SIPRI (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute) arms trade database, Estonia ordered 100 anti-tank missiles Spike-MR/LR in 2019 that were delivered in 2020/2021 as well as 40 Spike-NLOS missiles and 500 Spike-SR missiles.

Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Estonia has already delivered military and civilian aid for an amount of totaling €220 million. In terms of weapons, Estonia has already provided FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank missiles and D-30 122mm howitzers and ammunition.

On April 25, 2022, Estonian Minister of Defense Kalle Laanet was in Kyiv to show his support for Ukraine. Estonia is ready to supply Ukraine with additional heavy weapons and to organize the training of the Ukrainian Defense Forces in the use of Western weapons, said Kalle Laanet.

The Spike is a family of anti-tank and anti-personnel missiles that was developed and designed by the Israeli company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. It is available in man-portable, vehicle-launched, and helicopter-launched variants. The Spike is one of the most efficient anti-tank missiles in the current military market.

The Spike is a fire-and-forget missile with lock-on before launch and automatic self-guidance. The missile is equipped with an imaging infrared seeker. The MR is the medium-range version that is able to destroy targets within a range from 200 to 2,500 m.

The Spike LR is the long-range version which has a maximum firing range of 4,000 m. It features fiber-optic communication to and from the operator during flight. The missile is able to penetrate armor penetration of more than 700 mm (28 in) of Rolled homogeneous armor (RHA).