The DAC recently approved the procurement of SPICE-1000 long-range guidance kits for the Indian Air Force (IAF). The PIB press release announcing the DAC approval stated, “SPICE-1000 will enhance the long-range precision strike capability of the Indian Air Force.”
The SPICE-1000 is a glide-cum-navigation kit that can be fitted to a dumb 1,000 lb general-purpose penetrator bomb to convert it into a long-range PGM, much like the UMPK kits that Russian forces are using extensively in Ukraine.
Notably, DRDO is developing and has tested its own glide bomb kits. This raises the question: why does the IAF need to procure SPICE-1000 kits from Israel, particularly when the imported kits are woefully expensive?
SPICE-1000 Glide Kits
The SPICE (Smart, Precise Impact, Cost-Effective) 1000 kits are equipped with a mid-body fold-out wing assembly and a rear cruciform tail control fin set for gliding; INS and SATNAV for mid-course navigation; and electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) guidance for target acquisition and terminal homing.
The IAF has earlier acquired SPICE-2000 bomb kits and SPICE-250 bombs and used them operationally to strike terrorist camps in Balakot.
All three SPICE variants are equipped with an Automatic Target Acquisition (ATA) capability—an autonomous electro-optic scene-matching technology designed to overcome GPS jamming, navigation errors, and target location inaccuracies when engaging fixed targets. On approach to the target, the scene-matching algorithm compares the electro-optical image received in real time via the weapon seeker with mission reference data stored in the weapon’s onboard computer.
The EO/GPS-guided seeker in the SPICE kit or bomb has a CEP of less than 3 m in day/night and adverse weather conditions. The seeker is two-way data-linked to the launch or control aircraft (which may be different platforms).
The kit gives the 1,000 lb penetrator bomb a range of up to 125 km from the release point.
SPICE Kit Operational Capability
Either on the ground or in the air, the bomb can be programmed with up to 100 different mission profiles, including target coordinates, desired terminal glide and azimuth angles, topographical data, and target imagery.
Before release, the pilot selects the mission profile. Depending on the release altitude and the selected profile, the SPICE-1000 bomb may be released up to 125 km away from the target.
Following release, the weapon autonomously glides toward the target.
As it approaches the target, the seeker uses scene-matching algorithms to compare the EO sensor image with the stored target image and identify the target.
Once the target is identified, the weapon autonomously homes onto it, adjusting its flight path to achieve the desired impact angle and azimuth.
If the target is obscured, the bomb reverts to GPS guidance.
Via the datalink, the pilot or WSO can view the seeker image on the cockpit TV/IIR display and manually guide the bomb to the target using a joystick.
If the target is obscured, precluding both scene matching and manual joystick guidance, and GPS signals in the target area are jammed, the bomb may deviate from its intended flight path.
DRDO Glide Bombs
In 2013, DRDO announced a project to develop glide bomb kits. Since then, DRDO has indigenously developed glide bomb warheads and glide kits for 250 kg, 500 kg, and 1,000 kg class bombs.
DRDO’s Gaurav Long Range Glide Bomb (LRGB), designed and developed indigenously by the Research Centre Imarat (RCI), Hyderabad, is a navigation and glide kit for the DRDO-developed 1,000 kg High Speed Low Drag (HSLD) bomb.
The Gaurav LRGB uses a combination of INS and SATNAV for both mid-course and terminal navigation. Reportedly, it can be fitted with a Semi-Active Laser Homing (SALH) seeker, which would require the target to be laser-illuminated by a high-flying drone.
Adani Defence and Bharat Forge are Development-cum-Production Partners for the bomb.
DRDO successfully conducted release trials of Gaurav during April 8–10, 2025, from a Su-30MKI.
Earlier, on August 13, 2024, DRDO carried out a successful maiden flight test of the bomb from an IAF Su-30MKI off the Odisha coast.
Gaurav is reported to have a range of 30–150 km, depending on release altitude. For maximum range, it typically needs to be released from around 10 km altitude.
During trials, it has demonstrated a maximum range of 100 km.
With laser illumination of the target, Gaurav can achieve pinpoint accuracy. Without laser illumination, accuracy is reduced.
A Su-30MKI fighter can carry Gaurav-kitted bombs on multiple stations.
Gaurav Limitations
Compared to the SPICE-1000, Gaurav kits have certain operational limitations—specifically, the lack of an EO seeker, which constrains mission planning, and the reliance on target illumination.
Once released from its carrier aircraft, a Gaurav bomb glides directly toward its target. Without stored target-area imagery, it cannot select attack geometry or approach direction in the way the SPICE-1000 can.
Gaurav’s reliance on target illumination makes it significantly less versatile than the SPICE-1000. A MALE drone equipped with a laser designator must loiter over the target area to guide the weapon, exposing the platform to adversary air-defence systems. In addition, atmospheric obscurants such as cloud cover, dust, or smoke can degrade or even prevent effective laser illumination.
Conclusion
A SPICE-1000 kit typically costs around $480,000. As such, it is not suitable for extensive use. The IAF would not be able to employ these kits as liberally as Russian forces have used UMPK kits in Ukraine. However, SPICE-1000 is essential when near-pinpoint accuracy is required.
Gaurav can also achieve pinpoint accuracy, but only when laser target illumination is available, which may not always be the case.
The optimal solution for the IAF is to acquire SPICE-1000 kits in limited numbers and Gaurav-1000 kits in larger quantities.
Russian UMPK kits—which, like Gaurav, lack EO seekers and rely exclusively on INS and SATNAV for guidance—have demonstrated acceptable accuracy, successfully striking bridges and buildings.
The UMPK kits use 8- or 12-node SATNAV modules that are resilient to EW spoofing and can achieve accuracy comparable to military SATNAV signals.
Over time, DRDO is expected to upgrade the Gaurav-1000 kits with EO seekers and advanced mission-profiling capabilities.
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