February 11, 2011:
South Korea is buying new weapons to help deal with an increasingly aggressive North Korea. Among these is a new version of the Israeli Spike missile, one with a range of 25 kilometers. This version weighs 155 pounds (70kg), twice what the next largest version of Spike weighs. Spike is a series of anti-tank (or whatever) missiles with ranges from 200-8,000 meters. The 25 kilometer version is called Spike NLOS (Non Line-Of-Sight), meaning that can be fired at a target the operator cannot see (but someone else, with a laser designator, can see). Spike NLOS is usually fired from helicopters, which also provides the laser designator. South Korea wants to use this long range Spike off their west coast, to help block North Korean attempts to invade South Korean islands near the maritime border.