KIELCE, Poland — Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems hopes to add Serbia to its customer base for the Spike LR2 missile. At the same time, the company is promoting its product at the MSPO defense industry show in Kielce, Poland, in the country where local, state-owned Mesko plant produces the Spike LR anti-tank guided weapon under a license.
Earlier this month, Al Zaher, a regional director for Rafael, told Serbian public broadcaster RTS that Israel and Serbia were in talks over a potential procurement of Spike LR2 missiles to Belgrade.
In the Serbian market, Rafael is acting in partnership with state-owned defense business Yugoimport-SDPR, Zaher said.
Meanwhile, Roland Steinbrecher, the regional director for corporate international marketing and business development at Rafael, told Defense News the company is the only Israeli defense business at this year’s MSPO, and aims to extend its presence in Poland and introduce the Spike LR2 to this market among its other products.
“The first deal with Mesko was signed in 2003, providing our Polish partners with the necessary technology to produce the majority of the final product. Six years ago, we signed a new contract which is to end in 2021,” Steinbrecher told Defense News. “We would like to sign a new agreement to supply Mesko with new technology, allowing them to produce the Spike LR2.”
Should Serbia and Poland acquire the Spike LR2 missile, they would join a group of operators that includes other Eastern European states such as Estonia, Hungary, and Slovakia.
Jaroslaw Adamowski is the Poland correspondent for Defense News.
