India Inks New Rs 300 Cr Contract for 1000 Spice Bombs with Israel

Rafael Spice; a guided bomb. Image used for representational purposes. 

(Photo Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons/Altered by The Quint)

The Indian Air Force on Thursday, 6 June penned a deal with Israel for about 100 Spice bombs, which were reportedly used in the 26 February air strikes in Pakistan’s Balakot, two defence ministry officials were quoted by Hindustan Times as saying.

According to an India Today report, the bombs will be delivered to the Air Force in the next three months since the deal is under emergency powers.

This deal becomes the first military contract to be signed by the new government, one of the officials quoted by HT said.

Spice bombs were used in the Balakot strikes as a response to the Pulwama terror attack carried out by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed on 14 February. According to reports, three of India’s Mirage 2000 jets hit three targets in Balakot with five Spice bombs using penetrator warheads that allowed them to explode after piercing the surface.

According to the HT report, each bomb was carrying around 80 kg of explosives in a 900-kg steel casing.

Pakistan had earlier refused to acknowledge the damage caused by the five Spice bombs. However, IAF Chief Air Marshal BS Dhanoa later asserted that Indian jets had struck their targets with precision.

(With inputs from Hindustan Times and India Today.)