Question: The Indian Air Force has recently signed a deal to buy 100 more Spice Bombs with which of the following country?
(a) Russia
(b) US
(c) France
(d) Israel
Answer: (d)
Related facts:
- The Indian Air Force has signed a contract with Rafael Advanced Defense Systems of Israel to buy around 100 advanced SPICE 2000 bombs.
- The deal is worth Rs. 300 crore under emergency procurements.
- Air Force used these bombs in the airstrike done in Pakistan`s Balakot as a counter terrorist operation on 26th February 2019.
- It has earlier purchased these bombs in 2014 for about $100 million.
- These bombs will be supplied by Rafael in the coming three months.
SPICE Bombs:
- SPICE stands for smart, precise impact, cost-effective.
- It is an Israeli-developed, electro-optics and GPS-guided kit for converting air-droppable unguided bombs into precision-guided bombs.
- It weighs 900 kgs and designed for air-to-ground strikes.
- SPICE bomb has a standoff range of 60 kilometres and approaches the target as its unique scene-matching algorithm compares the electro-optical image received in real-time via the weapon seeker with mission reference data stored in the weapon computer memory and adjusts the flight path accordingly.
- SPICE 2000 also has an add-on kit for warheads such as the MK-84, BLU-109, APW and RAP-2000.
Links:
https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/iaf-to-buy-100-more-balakot-bombs-signs-rs-300-cr-deal-with-israel-1544063-2019-06-06
https://www.businesstoday.in/current/economy-politics/india-signs-rs-300-crore-deal-israel-buy-100-balakot-bombs-spice-bombs/story/354255.html
https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/06/11/indian-air-force-to-buy-spice-bombs-from-israeli-defense-contractor-rafael/