Photo By Belinda Bazinet | An AH-64Ev6 Apache from the 12th Combat Aviation Brigade fires the Spike NLOS missile...... read more read more
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The Apache helicopter completed Spike Non-Line-of-Sight (NLOS) missile live fire operational assessments in Poland and the U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM) area of operations recently.
These events demonstrated the operational utility of the Spike NLOS missile system in a deployed environment in the European theater of operations. Adding this long-range precision munition significantly enhances the lethality and standoff capabilities of Apache helicopters.
The 12th CAB and the Polish Air Force Inspectorate fired struck sea-based targets at distances of up to 25 kilometers (approximately 15.5 miles), using the Spike NLOS missiles, demonstrating both precision strike accuracy and flexible target engagement from a rotary-wing platform. The launch was the first time the U.S. Army employed the Spike NLOS missile in the European theatre.
“The Spike missile can [hit] armor, air defense artillery, naval flotillas and even troop formations up to 30 miles away, or about four times the distance of the current Hellfire missile,” said Chief Warrant Officer 5 Michael Weisskopf, the brigade standardization officer and an Apache pilot.
The missile launches were part of the third Polish Apache Initiative, a series of semiannual summits and exercises where U.S. Army aviators share their knowledge of tactics and maintenance, as well as train with Polish Air Force members.
“Today’s achievement underscores the critical role Army Aviation plays in enabling a lasting defeat of ISIS,” said Col. Tyler B. Partridge, 101st Combat Aviation Brigade commander. “The Spike NLOS missile dramatically extends our reach and precision, providing our ground force commanders with a decisive advantage. This live-fire validates our training and demonstrates our commitment to delivering world-class aviation support to CJTF-OIR (Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve). With this success we maintain our position as the most sought-after aviation force in the U.S. Army.”
Spike NLOS is a multipurpose precision guided missile system equipped with a dual-mode electro-optical/infrared seeker and a real-time, radio frequency two-way datalink. It increases the AH-64E’s stand-off distance, giving commanders greater maneuverability, survivability, and lethality in their attack aviation formations. The Spike missile locks on before launch with automatic self-guidance and has an imaging infrared seeker. The weapon’s datalink gives the aircrew real-time video imagery and control throughout the missile’s flight and allows operators the opportunity to change targets or abort the mission while enroute to the target.
“The operational firing of the Spike missile is a major milestone in Apache Development and Modernization,” Lt. Col. David Daniels, product manager of Apache’s Development & Modernization product office, said. “It demonstrates how Apache is delivering on Army modernization priorities of extending reach, increasing lethality, and ensuring combat overmatch.
“This significant accomplishment validates the extensive design and rapid federation efforts from the Apache team to optimize component location and pilot-vehicle interface,” Daniels added. “Every aspect of this system was designed to extract the maximum lethality and range of the system while increasing survivability and reducing workload to the crew. This milestone also highlights the evolution of the partnership between the Army, industry and the Warfighter to ensure the Apache remains the most lethal and adaptable attack helicopter in the world.”
| Date Taken: | 08.29.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 11.18.2025 10:47 |
| Story ID: | 551547 |
| Location: | PL |
| Web Views: | 28 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Army Fires Spike NLOS in Poland, by Belinda Bazinet, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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