In the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack, which killed 40 CRPF personnel, the Indian Air Force on Tuesday launched a massive strike on terror camps located in Pakistan. The Indian Air Force reportedly dropped around 1000 kg bombs on the Jaish-e-Mohammed camps in the wee hours of Tuesday. The air strike was carried out in three locations, one of them being across the Line of Control in Balakot, Pakistan. Various reports suggest that during this operation, Israeli-made smart bombs were used by India.
The Week reported that India used Israel-made SPICE 2000 smart bombs. The SPICE stands for Smart, Precise Impact and Cost-Effective. It is a guiding kit manufactured by Israel’s Rafael. The Week report further added that the SPICE kit adds a sophisticated guidance system—consisting of inertial navigation, satellite guidance and electro-optical sensors for pinpoint accuracy—and control fins to a conventional unguided bomb.This highly advanced bomb turns a conventional ‘gravity’ bomb into a sophisticated long-range munition. It is also extremely difficult to detect by most ground-based radars, because they are small and enable an aircraft to hit targets at standoff distances.
The Print reported that the SPICE 2000 was pre-fed with GPS coordinates and an image of the camp, which featured six barracks, each at least two or three storeys high. It uses a Digital Seen Matching Area Correlator (DSMAC) technology which automatically matches the target, as it zooms in, with the image that has been pre-fed, besides the GPS coordinates.
A ministry of defence press release in late 2015 confirmed the induction of the SPICE-2000 into the IAF. According to The Week report, the press release noted, “SPICE-2000: IAF has acquired precision guided bombs with increased accuracy and penetration for use against fortified and underground command centres. This weapon has been tested and its capabilities have been validated at an IAF firing range,” the December 2015 press release noted.
According to reports, Israeli Heron drone also played key role in the pre-dawn air strike carried by IAF. Earlier, during the Kargil war also, Israel had quickly provided India with necessary weapons.
IAF Mirage 2000s likely used Israeli Litening laser designator pods & Israeli SPICE bomb kit to drop bombs.
20 years ago, Israel had quickly provided India with necessary laser-guided missiles & technology for fighter jets during Kargil War.
Long live India – Israel brotherhood
— Anshul Saxena (@AskAnshul) February 26, 2019
Also read: India Israel Friendship – The friendship we deserve and need
India and Israel share warm and close relations especially in the defence sector. Israel is the fourth largest weapons supplier to India after US, Russia and France. This explains the importance of Indo-Israel relations. Israel has itself been battling regional conflicts and its battle tested arms and defence systems can thus turn out to be very handy for India. Recently, there were media reports claiming that the Indian Air Force is planning to acquire around 15 more HAROP attack drones. The induction of these drones into the Indian Air Force will enhance its unmanned warfare capability. These unmanned drones will provide India’s defense forces with the upper hand in the war as it can crash into strategically important enemy military targets and demolish them.
For more details: Indian Air Force to acquire 15 HAROP killer drones from Israel
