U.S. Army AH-64 Apache attack helicopters are now flying in Iraq carrying Israeli-made Spike NLOS (Non-Line Of Sight) missiles. This appears to be the first time Army AH-64s have deployed to an active conflict zone with these weapons. Spike NLOS offers significantly greater reach against targets on land and at sea, as well as enhanced employment flexibility, over the AGM-114 Hellfires and AGM-179 Joint Air-to-Ground Missiles (JAGM) that are also in the arsenal of Army Apaches.
The Army released a set of images of an AH-64 assigned to the 101st Airborne Division armed with Spike NLOS missiles at Erbil International Airport in Iraq’s northern semi-autonomous Kurdish region earlier today. All of the pictures were taken on March 5. Erbil is a major hub for U.S. military operations in Iraq and elsewhere in the region.
A US Army AH-64 Apache assigned to the 101st Airborne Division seen carrying Spike NLOS missiles in Iraq on March 5, 2025. US Army/Staff Sgt. Vincent Levelev
The U.S. Air Force had previously released pictures showing a C-17A Globemaster III cargo plane delivering AH-64s from the 101st Airborne Division’s 101st Combat Aviation Brigade to an undisclosed location in the Middle East last month.
An AH-64 assigned to the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division seen being unloaded from a C-17 cargo plane at an undisclosed location in the Middle East in February 2025. USAF/Airman 1st Class Sarah Ortega Corona
The Army also released pictures recently showing Spike NLOS-armed Apaches assigned to the 12th Aviation Brigade taking part in Exercise Allied Spirit ’25 in Germany. At least one of those images looks to have been subsequently taken offline for unclear reasons.
A Spike-NLOS-armed AH-64 assigned to the 12th Combat Aviation Brigade in Germany. US Army
Spike NLOS has been in service with the Israel Defense Force (IDF) since the 1980s. The missile, which is fired from ground and aerial platforms from a rectangular launch canister, has been improved upon multiple times since then. The current generation version can hit targets up to 20 miles away, according to manufacturer Rafael. For comparison, the variants the Hellfire and JAGM that the Apache can also fire have maximum ranges under 10 miles, but normal engagement distances are usually closer than that. Hellfires and JAGMs with tripled and doubled ranges, respectively, have been tested.
A promotional image showing what the Spike NLOS missile looks like after launch with its pop-out wings and tail fins in their deployed positions. Rafael
Spike NLOS also offers a multi-mode guidance system that can hit fixed targets based on a set of coordinates or be employed using the man-in-the-loop (MITL) control method. In the latter mode, the operator ‘sees’ what the missile does throughout the entire course of flight via an infrared camera in the weapon’s nose, and can manually make fine adjustments in the terminal phase. With the exception of the millimeter wave radar guided AGM-114L Longbow Hellfire, all known Hellfire variants are laser guided. JAGM features laser and millimeter wave radar guidance. Spike NLOS can also loiter for a short period of time while the operator looks for targets. The ability to hit targets behind cover is also a major feature of Spike NLOS.
As TWZ has previously explained:
“This gives Spike-NLOS incredible accuracy, even against moving targets, and enables it to find its mark in bad weather or in parts of the battlefield obscured by smoke and dust, which could disrupt traditional laser or imaging seeker systems. As the weapon’s name implies, it also offers a way for the launch platform to engage targets beyond-line-of-sight, while also remaining as hidden as possible, especially when coupled with targeting information from off-board platforms. It also offers the operator a greater ability to more significantly shift the weapon’s point of impact, even very late in flight, should circumstances on the ground change, such as the sudden appearance of innocent bystanders in the target area. The weapon can even be used to search for and kill targets of opportunity far from where the launch platform is located. Regardless, the missile offers the launch platform huge flexibility and a big boost in survivability.”
“The Army has already demonstrated the potential value of these capabilities in earlier testing. In August 2019, an Apache hiding on one side of a 1,600-foot-tall mountain at Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona hit a surrogate for a Russian-made Pantsir-S1 point air defense system on the opposite slope with a Spike-NLOS. The helicopter remained largely concealed from and out of range of this simulated threat the entire time. An unspecified unmanned aircraft was used to first spot the target and then observe the strike.”
The Army has also successfully demonstrated the ability of an Apache to destroy a small boat with a Spike NLOS, something TWZ was first to report.
The picture of the AH-64 with the Spike NLOS missiles in Iraq also shows that the helicopter has the Manned-Unmanned Teaming-Extended (MUMT-X) system mounted on top of its rotor mast. MUMT-X is a communications and data-sharing array primarily designed to allow Apache crews to control uncrewed aircraft like the MQ-1C Gray Eagle, as well as pipe in the feeds from their sensors. This, in turn, can help Apaches find and target enemy forces, as well as just improve their overall situational awareness and avoid threats. You can read more about MUMT-X here.
Whether or not the MUMT-X system can play any role now in the employment of Spike NLOS is unknown. The AH-64 in Iraq armed with these missiles also has a ‘bucket-style’ antenna for the Spike control datalink on its left stub wing. This has been a standard feature on Israeli Apaches that carry Spike for decades.
Close-ups of the Spike NLOS-armed Apache in Iraq showing the datalink installed on the left stub wing. US Army
One of the 12th Combat Aviation Brigade’s AH-64s taking part in Allied Spirit ’25 with a datalink likely associated with Spike-NLOS on the outboard pylon on its left stub wing. This helicopter also lacks MUMT-X. US Army
A Spike NLOS-armed US Army Apache seen during testing with the datalink installed on its right stub wing. This helicopter also has the Longbow mast-mounted radar rather than the MUMT-X system. US Army
Exactly when the Army began fielding Spike NLOS operationally on its AH-64s is unclear, but the service had previously said it expected to reach that milestone by the end of last year. The Army had decided to field the missile on a limited basis as an interim solution to a requirement for a Long Range Precision Munition for its Apaches back in 2020.
The Army is still looking into other options, including air-launched loitering munitions, to expand the ability of its Apaches to engage targets at extended ranges. Concerns about increasingly more capable and longer-ranged air defense threats have been a major driver behind these efforts. The ongoing war in Ukraine has provided particular good examples of the continuing value of attack helicopters, but also of their vulnerability on modern battlefields. The U.S. Marine Corps is now working to extend the lethal reach of its AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters for many of the same reasons.
With Spike NLOS, the Army has already given its Apache fleets, including ones now flying in Iraq, the ability to very accurately attack targets much further away than they could previously.
Contact the author: joe@twz.com