IAF inks Rs 300 crore deal to procure Spice bombs from Israel

The Indian Air Force has signed a Rs 300 crore deal with a Israeli defence firm to procure a batch of SPICE 2000 guided bombs, official sources said Friday.

The IAF had used SPICE bombs in its strikes on a terrorist training camp in Pakistan's Balakot on February 26.

Sources said the order for the bombs has been placed under the special financial powers given to the armed forces by the government for emergency purchases.

The deal was signed with Israel's Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and the bombs are expected to be supplied in the next three months, the sources said.

IAF fighter jets bombed terror group JeM's training camp in Balakot deep inside Pakistan.

The Indian strike on the JeM camp came 12 days after the terror group claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on a CRPF convoy in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama in which 40 soldiers were killed.

Following the Pulwama attack, the government granted emergency powers to the three services to procure weapons and military hardware to enhance their operational preparedness along the border with Pakistan.

The government also relaxed certain rules to cut delays in military purchase like allowing the three services to procure required weapons and equipment from a single vendor.