Israel Air Force Boosts Precision Strikes with Advanced SPICE Bombs

The Israeli Air Force has significantly increased the number of precision-guided munitions a single aircraft can deploy per sortie, from four to 16, since the start of the ongoing war. This surge is attributed to the accelerated integration of the SPICE 250, the most compact munition in Rafael's guided bomb family. Although the SPICE 250 was still undergoing operational familiarization in combat squadrons at the war's outset, testing, approvals, and crew training were rapidly expedited amidst hostilities. Concurrently, Rafael was tasked with tripling its production rate for the weapon.

The SPICE 250, known within the IAF as 'Barad Katan' (Small Hail), is a self-contained munition weighing approximately 125 kg. Unlike earlier iterations that were conversion kits for existing bombs, the SPICE 250 is a complete weapon. It boasts a range of about 100 km, and four units can be carried on a single hardpoint, enabling aircraft to engage more targets per mission. The SPICE acronym stands for Smart, Precise Impact, and Cost-effective.

At its core, the SPICE family utilizes electro-optical guidance technology developed by Rafael over years, including its work on the Popeye missile. The SPICE concept transforms a conventional bomb by adding wings, a navigation system, and a "camera" or seeker, enabling it to glide towards a target from tens of kilometers away. Crucially, the munition does not rely solely on GPS for terminal guidance. Its forward-facing camera captures imagery, which an onboard algorithm compares in real-time to target photos loaded before the mission. This allows the system to recognize its location, correct positional errors, and autonomously guide itself to the designated point, making it effective even in GPS-denied or jammed environments.

First publicly demonstrated in 1999 as a kit for the 900 kg Mk-84 bomb, the SPICE system entered Israeli Air Force production four years later. The heavier SPICE 2000, dubbed 'Barad Plada' (Steel Hail), converts 2000-pound bombs into precision weapons with extended range and received the Israeli Security Award in 2008. The SPICE 1000, or 'Barad Kal' (Light Hail), followed, applying the same principle to a lighter munition with increased range, earning its own Israeli Security Award in 2019.

The latest advancement, the SPICE 250, prioritized miniaturization to drastically increase the number of munitions carried while maintaining range, accuracy, and GPS-independent operation. In 2019, Rafael introduced AI-powered automatic target recognition for the SPICE 250, allowing it to identify specific target features, detect moving objects, and differentiate them from surroundings, going beyond simple image matching. A two-way data link permits mid-flight mission updates, target changes, or aborts.

The SPICE family's use extends beyond Israel. In 2019, Rafael partnered with Lockheed Martin for the joint development, production, and marketing of SPICE 1000 and SPICE 2000 in the U.S., later expanding the collaboration to include the SPICE 250. The development pipeline includes the SPICE 250 ER, featuring a small engine to significantly extend its range, blurring the lines between glide bombs and missiles. Ongoing development focuses on enhanced target recognition, engagement of moving targets, and improved performance in heavy electronic warfare conditions. Over its 25-year evolution, SPICE has transformed from a kit to enhance dumb bombs into intelligent munitions capable of autonomous operation and reduced reliance on GPS.