Role & capabilities
- Loitering munition programme
- Primary domain
- Air
- System type
- Loitering munition
- Developer / manufacturer
- Rafael
- Origin / production countries
- Israel
- Other names
- SPIKE Firefly; L-SPIKE 1X
- Variants / configurations
- Earlier SPIKE Firefly brochure configuration; L-SPIKE 1X, 2025 brochure
- Operators / programme customers
- Not identified in reviewed sources
Evidence & current status
Manufacturer brochures identify different generations. Supplier operational claims do not independently establish the current configuration of each customer fleet.
Rafael’s small rotary-wing loitering-munition lineage includes the earlier SPIKE Firefly and the revised L-SPIKE 1X offering. The two manufacturer brochures show materially different aircraft weights and range claims. They are recorded as separate configurations within one lineage profile rather than combined into a single specification.
The earlier Firefly sheet distinguishes the air vehicle from the complete equipment kit. The newer 1X brochure gives a lighter aircraft and a longer stated range. Both describe different duration configurations, including a reconnaissance arrangement; the longer time is not assumed for every loaded aircraft.
Rafael makes operational-use claims for the newer product, but those remain supplier-attributed. A renamed or evolved offering does not automatically establish that existing users received the new configuration. The profile preserves the names for search while requiring a specific version whenever its numerical fields are compared.
Sourced specifications
Figures apply to the named configuration. Maximum values are not guaranteed operating performance.
| Specification | Reported value | Context & source |
|---|---|---|
| Airframe | Small rotary-wing aircraft | Earlier Firefly configuration. Source |
| Launch / recovery | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source |
| Propulsion | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source |
| Dimensions | Earlier Firefly folded round: 80 × 80 × 400 mm | Do not apply to the revised 1X without confirmation. Source |
| Mass | L-SPIKE 1X: 2.2 kg | Current 1X product sheet; earlier Firefly configuration remains separate. Source |
| Endurance | 15 min loaded; 30 min reconnaissance configuration | Different configurations; supplier claims. Source |
| Range | L-SPIKE 1X: up to 5 km | Revised brochure; earlier Firefly had shorter environment-dependent values. Source |
| Speed | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source |
| Altitude | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source |
| Payload | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source |
| Sensors | Daylight and infrared imaging | Earlier Firefly baseline. Source |
| Communications / navigation | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source |
Publication history
- — Published reference update.
Suggest a correction to this entry
Follow the evidence
Source types identify who makes the claim. Programme milestones and supplier statements should be read in context.