New Delhi :
In a major boost for the firepower of the Indian Air Force (IAF), the new version of the guided air-to-ground Spice-2000 bombs have reached at the Gwalior airbase, Madhya Pradesh. “The Israeli firm has started the delivery of the Spice-2000 bombs to India and the first batch of these bombs was received recently,” top IAF sources were quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
It should be noted that Gwalior is the main base of the Mirage 2000 fighter jets.
The Indian Air Force had signed a Rs 300 crore deal with an Israeli defence firm for acquiring more than 100 Spice 2000 bombs. The deal was sealed after IAF successfully used them in the Balakot airstrikes against a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist camp in Pakistan’s Balakot on February 26.
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Following the Pulwama attack, IAF fighter jets bombed terror group Jaish’s training camp in Balakot deep inside Pakistan.
During the Balakot strikes, the Air Force had dropped Spice-2000 bombs from Mirage-2000 fighter aircraft after a pack of 12 of these fighters crossed the Line of Control to strike the Jaish facility in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
However, the Spice-2000 bombs used in the Balakot strikes were the penetrator version which made holes using their weight in the concrete rooftops of the buildings in the Jaish camp which don't destroy buildings but explode inside killing people with the mix of 70-80 kg explosives with shrapnel.
Spice, manufactured by the Israeli defence technology company Rafael, is short for 'Smart, Precise-Impact and Cost-Effective'. The Spice guidance kit consists of two pieces - one is attached to the bomb's head and the other is attached at the end.
According to reports, the order for the bombs was placed under the special financial powers given to the armed forces by the government for emergency purchases and the deal was signed with Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.
The government had granted emergency powers to the three services to procure weapons and military hardware to enhance their operational preparedness along the border with Pakistan.
