SPICE stands for Smart, Precise Impact, Cost-Effective and falls under the category of air to ground weapon systems.
While most countries have invested in high performance guided missiles, the countermeasures taken against these have rendered the high budgeted weapons powerless.
Laser-guided bombs and GPS guided missiles have already been proven impactless in harsh regions which have adopted GPS jamming. Technology is a double-edged sword and because of this, as we have advanced weapons today, we also have advanced countermeasures.
But the good news is that Rafael has not stopped innovating. The Isreal defence contractor, responsible for many of the advanced weapons Isreal uses has created an air to ground weapon system which is capable of killing and rendering exceptional performance even under harsh conditions.
SPICE family is one such kit. SPICE harnesses the power of electro-optical guidance system and satellite guidance system, which makes it much better than the other missiles. The satellite guidance helps it to discover the underground and hidden targets and provides pinpoint accuracy while making the kill. These missiles are capable of destroying the enemy targets in all weathers, day and night and are also immune to communication glitches.
While most countries have also adopted GPS jamming to disable the missiles, SPICE stays immune and is capable of overcoming all the location errors on its own.
SPICE family consists of three variants – SPICE 1000, SPICE 2000 AND SPICE 250. And in this article, we are going to briefly discuss each variant.
1. SPICE 1000 and SPICE 2000
SPICE 1000 and SPICE 2000 almost have similar features but are different in structure, warheads and weight. Both the weapon systems thrive on the target data, which includes azimuth, angle, imagery, coordinates etc. The pilate provides all the information to the missile while assigning the mission. After the missile is launched, it matches the electro-optical image received with the mission data in real-time. The trajectory of the missile is also adjusted as per the received image. As the scene matches, the SPICE missile automatically acquires the target and renders pinpoint precision while destroying the enemy’s forces.
2. SPICE 250
SPICE 250 is the newest addition to the SPICE family. While the working of this missile is similar to that of SPICE 1000 and SPICE 2000, what makes it different is the artificial intelligence and deep learning technologies. SPICE 250 can easily learn all the specifications of the target, that too before the strike. The lightweight of these advanced missiles makes it easier for fighter aircraft to carry more explosive at once.
It is believed that the most recent use of SPICE was made by India, during their airstrike in Balakot. As per the reports, India has also made the purchase of SPICE 2000 in 300 crores. It is also believed that India is constantly amending its aircraft for carrying SPICE missiles.
Rafael’s advanced attack and defence systems have continuously pushed the bar in the weapon industry. Now with SPICE 250, an artificial intelligence equipped missile, Rafael is paving the path for the technologically evolved future of the weapon systems.