Page 26 - ADT JANUARY 2021 Online Magazine

air strike in February 2019. The new con-
tract includes Rafael’s Bnet system, a family
of advanced Broadband IP MANET (Mobile
Ad-hoc NETwork) Software Defined Radios
for tactical operations, supporting the modern
digital battlefield’s needs with high-speed, low [ MUNITIONS ]
delay, reliable connectivity for data, voice and
video on-the-move.

SPICE is a family of stand-off, autonomous, air-
to-ground weapon systems that strike targets
with pinpoint accuracy and at high attack vol-
umes, independently of GPS navigation, based
on autonomous electro-optic Scene-Matching
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Algorithms. The SPICE
family, operational and combat proven in the
Spicing Up! of SPICE-250, SPICE-1000, and SPICE-2000
Israeli air force and other global users, consists
variants, with ranges of up to 100 km.
The Spike family consists of five variants
(SR, MR, LR2, ER2, NLOS) of electro-optical,
multi-purpose, multi-platform missiles, with
ranges of up to 32 km and fire-and-update
AN ASIAN NATION IS ACQUIRING SPICE 2000 AIR- capabilities.
TO-SURFACE SYSTEMS
To-date, Spike has been sold to 35 countries,
including 19 NATO nations, with over 33,000
Jay Menon missiles already supplied and more than 6,000
fired in tests and in combat. Spike missiles have
Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defence Systems has announced that been integrated onto 45 different vehicular, heli-
it has been awarded a US$200 million contract to provide an copter and naval platforms. The United States,
Asian country with SPICE 2000 air-to-surface systems, Spike early this year, chose the Israeli-made long-
ATGMs, tactical, electro-optically guided missiles, and advanced range Spike precision missile to use on attack
communication systems. Though the company has not revealed helicopters. The Spike NLOS missile was fired
the customer nation, military observers note that it could be India from AH-64 Apache attack helicopters both
since New Delhi has been planning to acquire more SPICE-2000 in Israel and at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona,
bombs, which were earlier used in the airstrikes on terror camps
in Balakot in Pakistan in 2019. “THE SPIKE NLOS MISSILE
SUPPORTS THE U.S ARMY’S THIRD
However, an official at India’s Ministry of Defence has neither con-
firmed nor denied, when asked about the new order from Israel MODERNIZATION PRIORITY,
for more missiles. Currently, SPICE-2000 is used on French-origin FUTURE VERTICAL LIFT’S (FVL)
Mirage-2000 fighters and has been acquired by the Indian Air SIGNATURE EFFORT THE FUTURE
Force (IAF) for use against fortified and underground command ATTACK RECONNAISSANCE
centers. The IAF is also in the process of equipping its mainstay
Sukhoi-30MKI with Israeli SPICE-2000 bombs, to make the fighter AIRCRAFT,” Lt. Col. Matthew Kukla, FVL
jets more potent. The Su-30MKI is numerically and technologically CFT operations deputy.
the frontline fighter in the IAF with around 250 aircraft in operation.
According to experts, with a maximum takeoff weight of over 35
tonnes, twice that of the Mirage-2000, a single Su-30MKI could
carry at least three SPICE-2000 bombs, giving it massive opera-
tional flexibility.

Early this year, India’s Defence Ministry had given emergency
powers to the armed forces to procure weapons systems up
to 5 billion rupees on an urgent basis, without any further clear-
ances, to cut short the procurement cycle. The decision to grant
emergency funds was taken amid tensions on the borders with
China. Similar powers were given to the military after the Balakot

26 | January 2021 WWW .GBP .COM.SG/ ADT