India eyes more Spice
The Indian Air Force (IAF) is to buy more Spice 2000 precision-guidance kits from Israel, using emergency procurement powers granted by the Narendra Modi government, according to reports in the Indian media.
Spice is an Israeli precision guidance kit, made by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, that is designed to convert conventional unguided bombs into precision-guided munitions.
According to Shephard Defence Insight, the IAF has approximately 100 Spice munitions in its inventory.
Spice 2000 is designed to work with general-purpose and penetration warheads weighing about 2,000 lb (900kg). It consists of an add-on kit for warheads such as the MK-84, BLU-109, RAP-2000 and others.
Amid the ongoing border dispute with China, the Indian government has given the armed forces discretionary powers to spend up to INR500 crore ($66 million) on any weapon system.
Spice 2000 was used by the IAF in 2019, in airstrikes on Pakistani terrorist camps.
As part of our promise to deliver comprehensive coverage to our Defence Insight and Premium News subscribers, our curated defence news content provides the latest industry updates, contract awards and programme milestones.
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Air Warfare
-
M-345 officially enters service as trainer for Italian Air Force
The Leonardo M-345 High-Efficiency Trainer (HET) basic/advanced trainer is similar to the M-346, which is the second part of the Italian Air Force’s training system, but is a substantially smaller and less powerful aircraft.
-
Belgium’s F-35A order progresses at it awaits first jet delivery by late 2025
The first aircraft delivery timeline confirmation comes as Belgium weighs up an additional F-3A buy from Lockheed Martin.
-
Trump’s drone directives win US industry support but questions remain over ability to challenge Chinese market dominance
New presidential directives for UAV production are intended to remove bureaucratic barriers and support suppliers.
-
Enhancing education: How CAE is embracing new technology to boost military training
In Conversation... Shephard's Gerrard Cowan talks to CAE's Marc-Olivier Sabourin about how the training and simulation industry can help militaries achieve essential levels of readiness by leveraging new technology, innovative procurement methods and a truly collaborative approach.
-
Paris Air Show 2025: Airbus Helicopters unveils new crewed-uncrewed teaming solution
The solution, named HTeaming, has already been tested in flight with a Spanish Navy H135 helicopter and an Airbus Flexrotor uncrewed aerial system (UAS).