India orders 100 more SPICE 2000 bomb guidance kits from Israel

The SPICE 2000 kit on a 2000-lb gravity bomb. Photo c/o Economic Times India.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) made a follow-on order for 100 units of SPICE 2000 bomb guidance kits. Under an INR3 billion (US$43.3 million) deal with Israel's Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.

SPICE stands for "Smart Precise Impact Cost Effective".

The deal, said to be signed on 6 June 2019, will be delivered within three months and would be used by the IAF's upgraded fleet of Mirage 2000H fighter aircraft.

Rafael's SPICE allows the conversion of standard Mark 84 and BLU-109 series of 2000-lb gravity bombs into stand-off autonomous munitions. It can be dropped from high altitudes 60 kilometers away from its intended target, and is equipped with an  Inertial Navigation System (INS) guided by Global Positioning System (GPS). 

The IAF has been using the SPICE 2000 since 2015, and it was used in an airstrike conducted in February 2019 against terrorists targets in Balakot in Kashmir, which led to sair skirmishes with the Pakistan Air Force.

The airstrike was said to be effective and a proof of SPICE 2000's capabilities, which led to this new order from the IAF.



[1] Jane's Defence Weekly
[2] Business Today India