PARIS — The Netherlands picked Israeli firm Rafael Advanced Defense Systems to supply an upgrade for the country’s more than 200 medium-range anti-tank missile launchers that will boost combat range, for an investment of as much as €250 million ($277 million).
The Dutch Army and Marines plan to switch to Rafael’s Integrated Command Launch Unit, which can fire the Spike LR2 missile with a range of 5,000 meters (5,468 yards), Dutch State Secretary of Defense Gijs Tuinman said in a letter to parliament on Monday. The system is backwards-compatible with the country’s stock of older Spike missiles, Tuinman said.
The Netherlands’ medium-range anti-tank (MRAT) systems have been in use with the anti-tank units of the country’s Army combat brigades and Marines amphibious battalions since 2002 and are reaching end-of-life, with outdated targeting and guidance optics limiting the use of longer-range missiles, according to the Defence Ministry.
“Replacement of the MRAT capability is urgent, also given the rapidly deteriorating security situation in Europe,” Tuinman told parliament. “The ability to take out enemy combat vehicles at long range is essential to the safety of our military.”
The Dutch Defence Ministry is targeting contract signature in October. The ministry has a contract option through to Oct. 31, and Tuinman called on parliament to take the deadline into account in dealing with the equipment request. “Delivery times are increasingly under pressure, which means later ordering would result in a delay and higher prices.”
The deal would be for “off-the-shelf” equipment, with Rafael delivering the first launchers in 2026 and final handover expected in the first half of 2028. The investment is in the range of €50 million to €250 million, the ministry said.
Requirements for the new system include increased targeting range and non-line-of-sight firing capability, according to the ministry. The Rafael launcher is a further developed and modernized version of the system currently in use with the Dutch, and will represent a “significant” increase in the ability to target enemy tanks and other combat vehicles, Tuinman said.
The Rafael system has potential for further development to expand its combat range, and an expected near-term development is coupling the launcher with drones for target detection and beyond-visual-range engagement, according to the ministry. The Netherlands’ modernized CV90 fighting vehicles will be equipped to fire the Spike LR2, it said.
Germany has also purchased the Rafael launcher with Spike LR2 missiles, and the Dutch choosing the same system responds to a parliamentary request to consider standardization in equipment buying, the defense secretary said. The new launcher has “a very large European user group” ranging from Spain to Finland, including neighboring Belgium, Tuinman said.
The Netherlands purchased hundreds of Spike missiles in recent years to bolster stockpiles, while the new system will be able to use older-generation missiles for live firing exercises, preventing those munitions from exceeding their expiration date and having to be destroyed, the ministry said.
Dutch policy toward Israel allows for the acquisition of defense equipment from an Israeli company, in this case Rafael, the defense ministry said in a note accompanying Tuinman’s letter. The armed forces procuring “the best equipment possible” is in the interest of the security of the Netherlands, its allies and its personnel, it said.
Rafael has a German joint venture with Diehl Defence and Rheinmetall called Eurospike that is in charge of marketing the family of Spike missiles in Europe. Meanwhile, Poland said last year it was buying hundreds of Spike missiles through Rafael’s local partner Mesko.
Rudy Ruitenberg is a Europe correspondent for Defense News. He started his career at Bloomberg News and has experience reporting on technology, commodity markets and politics.
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