The Pike is a precision-guided mini-missile or grenade munition designed by

Raytheon Raytheon is a business unit of RTX Corporation and is a major U.S. defense contractor and industrial corporation with manufacturing concentrations in weapons and military and commercial electronics. Founded in 1922, it merged in 2020 with Unite ...

. It is a 40 mm guided munition that can be fired from the barrel of a Heckler & Koch

M320 Grenade Launcher Module M320 Grenade Launcher Module (GLM) is the U.S. military's designation for a new single-shot List of 40 mm grenades, 40 mm grenade launcher system to replace the M203 grenade launcher, M203 for the U.S. Army, while other services initially kept ...

and FN Enhanced Grenade Launching Module (EGLM) like a standard

40mm grenade This is a general collection of the world's many types of ammunition for grenade launchers in caliber. Several countries have developed or adopted grenade launchers in 40 mm caliber. NATO NATO currently uses three standardized 40 mm grenad ...

, but is powered by a

rocket motor A rocket engine is a reaction engine, producing thrust in accordance with Newton's third law by ejecting reaction mass rearward, usually a high-speed jet of high-temperature gas produced by the combustion of rocket propellants stored inside t ...

to propel it to give infantrymen improved extended-range precision capabilities. The weapon uses a digital, semi-active laser seeker to guide itself to within five meters of the target; it can operate in a two-man shooter/spotter team or by the grenadier alone lazing after firing, as it can fly for 15 seconds before homing in. When fired, Pike has a small propellant to "kick" it out of the tube before the nearly smokeless motor ignites, and range is dependent on firing angle. The munition is effective against fixed and slow-moving mid-range targets, using a blast fragmentation warhead with a 10-meter lethality radius. Raytheon developed the weapon for three years in collaboration with Nammo Talley, which developed the warhead and propulsion system. The Pike is intended to be more accurate with a longer range than rocket propelled grenades (RPGs) and standard rifle grenades, while being far lighter and more cost-effective than current infantry guided weapons like the $78,000 each

FGM-148 Javelin The FGM-148 Javelin, or Advanced Anti-Tank Weapon System-Medium (AAWS-M), is an American-made man-portable anti-tank system in service since 1996 and continuously upgraded. It replaced the M47 Dragon anti-tank missile in US service. Its fire-and-f ...

. Further improvements could include different fuses, multiple-round simultaneous programming and targeting with data-link capabilities, and platform integration onto small boats, vehicles, and small

unmanned aerial vehicle An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or unmanned aircraft system (UAS), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft with no human pilot, crew, or passengers onboard, but rather is controlled remotely or is autonomous.De Gruyter Handbook of Dron ...

s (UAVs). Pike weighs and is long, too long to fit in the breech of the M203 grenade launcher. At AUSA 2015, Raytheon revealed they had performed two successful test firings of the Pike. After its unveiling, Raytheon received permission to market the Pike to foreign governments, several of which have shown interest for infantry forces and special operators. While it is more expensive than unguided RPGs and less powerful than a Javelin, it is cheaper than

anti-tank missile An anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), anti-tank missile, anti-tank guided weapon (ATGW) or anti-armor guided weapon is a missile guidance, guided missile primarily designed to hit and destroy armoured fighting vehicle, heavily armored military v ...

s and powerful enough to blast through walls and other barriers. While the M203 would have to be modified to swing out far enough to accept the round, the Pike can be fired from other launchers such as the break-open, M79 and large breech M320. The Pike is already in service with Canadian special forces, using an underslung H&K M320 40 mm grenade launcher—rifles equipped this way use laser designators on the rifle, but standalone designators are also used.

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* : Canadian special forces

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Raytheon
Surface-to-surface missiles of the United States Raytheon Company products Grenades of the United States Military equipment introduced in the 2010s

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