We finally have a new look at the Spike LR2 in service! The Canadian Army released this statement, along with the above video:
“Soldiers from The Royal Canadian Regiment recently deployed the SPIKE Long Range 2 during a demonstration in the Adazi training area in Latvia. This 5th generation anti-tank guided missile system is essential in the defence against any possible armoured threat.”
The Portable Anti-X Missile UOR is thankfully back on track. For those who are new here, software issues had previously delayed the project late last year.
Luckily, some quick work from the folks at Rafael quickly fixed these issues without much concern. It's great to see the system finally in action—SPIKE is a game-changing capability.
Sadly, this doesn’t change the fact that we are three years past the original announcement and still haven’t reached Full Operational Capability. It also doesn’t change the fact that, at the end of the day, a UOR is still an emergency, limited procurement.
Canada has had funding marked for the ATGM project for almost a decade (since 2017), and we’re still years out from delivery. That shouldn’t be acceptable in any environment.
Even three years is an issue, considering many of our allies can have whole, full projects written and completed in that timeframe. However, I can still be happy for this, even if SPIKE’s existence is a reminder of the glacial pace of the current procurement system and how ineffective it is.
Keep in mind, there’s also no system in place for converting UORs to wider purchases—in fact, UORs can actually make projects harder by creating more scrutiny in the process to avoid bias.
So it’s great to see new capabilities, and we should celebrate them, but it also carries a bit of a sad feeling.