According to a senior IAF official, to enhance the firepower capacity of Sukhoi-30s it will be equipped with SPICE-2000. Currently, only Mirage-2000 fighter jets are capable of delivering these bombs.
New Delhi: After the success of air-strike at the Jaish-e-Mohammed terror facility in Balakot in Pakistan, the Indian Air Force (IAF) is going to power its Russian made Sukhoi-30 fighter jets with the Israeli SPICE-2000 bombs.
This is the same bomb which was dropped by Mirage-2000 to raze the terror camps in Pakistan on February 26. The move by the IAF came a few days after the terror attack on a fleet of CRPF troops in which 40 jawans were killed in Pulwama.
According to a senior IAF official, to enhance the firepower capacity of Sukhoi-30s it will be equipped with SPICE-2000. Currently, only Mirage-2000 fighter jets are capable of delivering these bombs.
Also read: After bombing Balakot, India gives Pakistan evidence of JeM plan for Pulwama attack
The IAF sources said that several rounds of trails for launching the bombs on ground targets have already been done by Sukhoi-30MKI.
The Spice glide bomb technology. pic.twitter.com/owq9RuC1sT
— Aviator Anil Chopra (@Chopsyturvey)“At the moment, the only aircraft which is capable of delivering the bombs on enemy targets is the Mirage 2000. But now, the Air Force is putting them on the Sukhoi-30 fighter jets as well to further enhance their firepower,” said a senior official, as reported.
A final call on using the Israeli weapon with Sukhoi-30 fleet will be finally taken after a few more trails. India had purchased 200 SPICE bombs from Israel.
Once the Spice-2000 smart bombs are integrated with the Sukhoi Su-30 jets, it will be a major upgrade for the Indian Air Force as a major part of its fleet will be able to launch these smart bombs.
SPICE stands for Smart, Precise Impact, Cost Effective. The bomb comes from a family of standoff air-to-ground weapon systems. Once a pilot releases SPICE outside the threatened area, the bomb automatically performs midcourse navigation using its GPS and accurately homes in on the exact target. During the homing phase, the weapon locates the target using 'scene-matching technology' and then uses the tracker to hit it.
This weapon has the capability to hit targets precisely at day, night and during adverse weather because of its dual infrared IR/CCD-TV seeker and advanced scene-matching algorithms.
The SPICE bombs can be pre-fed satellite details for accurately locating the enemy target. SPICE can overcome errors in locating the target, GPS jamming and reduces collateral damage.
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