Hellenic Navy Conducts Inaugural SPIKE Missile Firings During Joint Drills with Israel

The Hellenic Navy conducted acceptance firings of Rafael SPIKE NLOS and SPIKE ER2 missiles on October 21 during joint Greek-Israeli naval exercises in the northern Cretan Sea. A Machitis-class patrol craft launched SPIKE NLOS and a Mk V Special Operations Craft fired SPIKE ER2 at the decommissioned frigate Bouboulina, which a Greek Type 214 submarine subsequently sank with a torpedo. Four patrol vessels carry Typhoon MLS-NLOS launchers with missiles rated to 32 km, while four special-operations craft carry shorter-range ER2 systems. The firings validated recently installed shipboard missile configurations and crew procedures rather than constituting a new procurement announcement.