Spice 250 bombs - Israeli Mini-Cruise

[JJ_BPK]

Looks like these could be very useful as vehicle mounted area defense in remote areas?? I wonder if a ground launch version is available??

A hummer with a couple sets of these would help those FB's that are outside of arty range.

I think this mini-cruise is part of a Spice family of weapons?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrT2KtSzMd0

The "SPICE" (Smart, Precise Impact, Cost-Effective) is an Israeli-developed, EO/GPS-guided guidance kit for converting air-droppable unguided bombs into precision guided bombs.

A derivative of the "Popeye" (AGM-142 Have Nap) air-to-surface missile, the "Spice" is a product of Israeli company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. It achieved initial operational capability during 2003, in Israeli Air Force F-16 squadrons.

The "Spice" munition is more advanced than most EO-guided bombs (GBU-15, for example), since it combines the advantages of satellite guidance (such as the ability to engage camouflaged and hidden targets; to provide a "drop-and-forget" option for several such targets simultaneously; and to operate in all weather and lighting conditions) and those of electro-optical guidance (such as the ability to provide "man-in-the-loop" guidance for extremely high precision; the ability to engage relocatable targets; lower CEP than that of satellite-guided munitions; and independence from external information sources like satellites) into one bomb – reducing the amount of munitions (and hence, payload) that an aircraft has to carry for a given strike mission, increasing its combat radius and maneuverability. This multiple guidance methods selectability is especially important in an "information warfare" battlefield, where an aircraft might approach a surface target while it is, for example, masked with smoke (in which case satellite guidance would be required) or moving around (in which case electro-optical guidance would be required).

Another advantage of the "Spice" is its ability to be fed, preflight, with up to 100 different targets it may have to engage. The one target it will actually engage may then be selected, inflight, by an aircrewman.