OK, I was in Gagetown when the Brits were doing their live fire evaluation of the Spike and the Javelin and I was lucky enough to run into the PM from DLR who was there observing. I think both missiles are suitable for what we need but don't let the Brit selection of Javelin fool you into thinking it is definitely the better system. They may have placed 'interoperability' and keeping their biggest ally happy above the pure techinical merits of the systems.
That being said, there are a lot of things going for the Spike system that I think make it a better system. Like the Javelin, it can be used in a fire and forget mode, but unlike the Javelin, it also has the option of a Fire, Observe and Update mode which allows more accurate targeting or even re-targeting after launch. This combined with the fact that the Spike family could be the solution to a number of our needs makes it more acceptable to me. For example, we could purchase the Spike MR (range 2,500m) and the Spike LR (range 4,000m) for use at the Company and Battalion level respectively. The MR and LR missiles weigh the same and use the same CLU.
Then there is the Spike ER (or NTD) which has an 8km range and can be fired NLOS (meaning the firer cannot see his target at launch but acquires it through the missile's seeker during flight). This, to me, would seem to be a good TOW replacement for use on a modified TUA chassis as it has double the range of the TOW and the NLOS capability that TOW does not have. Also, if we ever decide to arm the Griffon, the Spike ER would be a good choice for commonality and capability reasons.
So, in summary, me like Spike.
MG