Israel's Rafael Advanced Defense Systems yesterday unveiled Spike LR II, the fifth generation version of its man-portable fire-and-forget anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), which it claims is the world's first ATGM designed to defeat active protection systems (APS) protecting tanks and other fighting vehicles.

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Rafael said SPIKE LR II is the only missile known to have an inherent Counter-APS (CAPS) capability. The new ATGM is in full-scale development and is scheduled to become operational by the end of 2018.

The multi-purpose missile is a variant of the Spike family of ATGMs and is designed to defeat the toughest targets in the battlefield -- modern main battle tanks with enhanced reactive armor (ERA). It can also destroy fast-moving vehicles and penetrate bunkers.

Rafael said Spike-LR II is "smarter, sharper and agiler" than its predecessors. It's designed to operate from the same launchers used for Spike MR and LR. The new missile, which weighs 12.7 kg, or 10 percent lighter than the legacy LR, will be presented for the first time at the Paris Air Show in June.

Spike LR II provides major enhancements over the current LR variant in lethality, range and resolution. It has an enhanced capability to defeat targets of all types and comes with two warheads.

One warhead is an anti-tank warhead optimized with an enhanced tandem warhead that increases armor penetration by 30 percent over the previous generation. Another advantage of the new missile is its ability to strike at higher impact angles.

Spike LR II will be able to hit targets at up to 70 degrees, delivering more lethal top attack profile.

The second warhead is a multi-purpose version. It packs a different tandem warhead using multiple fusing presets designed to defeat light or fortified targets.

The variable fusing enables the operator to set the fuse to penetrate a target or explode on impact. Designed to operate as a penetrating warhead, the missile's warhead will create a small hole through reinforced concrete for the main charge to follow through.

Spike LR II can defeat targets from an extended range of up to 5,500 meters. It introduces a new, passive and uncooled multi-band seeker that integrates both thermal and High Definition (HD) color imagery, increasing the weapon's target acquisition and tracking efficiency even against complex and evasive targets.

The new seeker includes capabilities of a smart target tracker with AI features (Artificial Intelligence).