By: Andrew Carlson

India has quietly but decisively redrawn the contours of its defense doctrine. As first detailed in a report at the Israeli publication Maariv, New Delhi’s Defense Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, has approved a sweeping procurement package totaling approximately $8.7 billion, a move that places Israeli weapons systems at the very heart of India’s evolving military posture.

The scale of the decision alone is breathtaking. But it is the nature of the acquisitions—particularly the selection of Israel’s SPICE-1000 precision-guidance kits—that reveals a far more consequential story: India is no longer content to simply field large forces; it now seeks to dominate the battlespace with standoff, autonomous, high-accuracy strike capabilities that rival those of the world’s most advanced militaries.

According to the Maariv report, the centerpiece of the deal is the procurement of the SPICE-1000 system, developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. The system converts a standard 454-kilogram free-fall bomb into a long-range, highly accurate, autonomous strike weapon—essentially transforming legacy munitions into smart, networked precision killers.

The SPICE-1000 is not merely another guidance kit. As Maariv reported, it integrates satellite navigation, inertial guidance, and a sophisticated electro-optical/infrared homing head. This hybrid architecture enables the weapon to perform “man-in-the-loop” target acquisition: comparing real-time imagery with a preloaded digital library of target scenes to autonomously identify and strike its objective.

Crucially, the system features two-way data communication, allowing the pilot to update target parameters mid-flight. This means that even after release, the weapon remains dynamically adjustable—an invaluable capability in the fog of modern warfare.

Accuracy, always the defining metric, is extraordinary. The Maariv report noted that SPICE-1000 achieves a circular error probable of less than three meters and can be deployed at a standoff distance of up to 125 kilometers. Aircraft can therefore release their ordnance well beyond the effective envelope of enemy air defenses, drastically reducing the exposure of pilots and platforms.

India already has combat experience with SPICE technology. During the 2019 Balakot airstrikes against Pakistan, variants of the SPICE family were employed with demonstrable success—a fact repeatedly highlighted in the Maariv report as a key factor in New Delhi’s renewed confidence in Israeli systems.

Yet India is not abandoning domestic innovation. Parallel to the SPICE-1000 acquisition is the development of the Gaurav bomb, an indigenous system designed for heavier 1,000-kilogram warheads and produced in collaboration with Indian firms such as Adani Defense and Bharat Forge.

Maariv explained that Gaurav has already been tested from Sukhoi-30 aircraft, achieving a respectable range of around 100 kilometers. But the system remains technologically incomplete. Unlike SPICE, Gaurav lacks an integrated electro-optical seeker and instead depends on external laser designation for terminal guidance.

This limitation is far from academic. Laser designation requires a forward platform—often another aircraft or a ground team—to illuminate the target until impact. Such operations are vulnerable to enemy fire, electronic interference, adverse weather, smoke, and battlefield dust. In real combat conditions, these factors can transform precision weapons into liabilities.

At roughly $480,000 per SPICE-1000 kit, the Israeli system is undeniably expensive. But as the Maariv report emphasized, cost must be weighed against operational effect. SPICE is not meant for mass bombardment; it is a scalpel reserved for the most hardened, heavily defended, and strategically vital targets—air defense nodes, command centers, hardened bunkers.

By contrast, Gaurav is intended as a more economical solution for broad-spectrum strikes on fixed infrastructure, enabling India to saturate targets without exhausting its high-value stockpile. The Indian Air Force has therefore adopted a mixed-inventory doctrine: Israeli systems will serve as an interim precision solution while domestic alternatives mature under the banner of India’s “Atmanirbhar Bharat” (self-reliant India) initiative.

Maariv described this as a “dual-track” strategy—balancing immediate operational readiness with long-term industrial independence.

India’s sudden acceleration in arms procurement did not occur in a vacuum. The Maariv report traced the shift directly to the renewed confrontation with Pakistan last May, which exposed lingering gaps in India’s strike doctrine, especially in deep-penetration precision capability.

In the aftermath, New Delhi embarked on a quiet diplomatic offensive. In early November, India and Israel signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at dramatically strengthening bilateral defense cooperation. The agreement was formalized by Israel’s Director General of the Ministry of Defense, Maj. Gen. (res.) Amir Baram, and his Indian counterpart, Rajesh Kumar Singh—a ceremony extensively covered by Maariv.

Perhaps the most telling statistic comes from SIPRI data cited by Maariv: between 2020 and 2024, India accounted for approximately 34% of all Israeli defense exports—making it Israel’s single largest customer.

This relationship now extends beyond guidance kits. According to the information provided in the Maariv report, a covert delegation from India’s Ministry of Defense visited Israel last month to explore the acquisition—and possible local production—of IAI’s Air LORA ballistic missiles and Rafael’s Ice Breaker cruise missiles.

These systems represent a quantum leap in Indian strike capability. Air LORA is a quasi-ballistic missile designed for air launch, capable of striking strategic targets at extended ranges with minimal warning. Ice Breaker, meanwhile, is a stealthy, low-observable cruise missile optimized for maritime and coastal warfare.

The broader implications are unmistakable. As the Maariv report observed, India’s reliance on Israeli technology marks a subtle yet profound geopolitical realignment. Once tethered primarily to Russian hardware, New Delhi is now constructing a hybrid arsenal rooted in Western—particularly Israeli—innovation.

This shift is driven not by ideology but by performance. Israeli weapons are battle-tested, adaptable, and designed for the kind of asymmetric, high-threat environments India increasingly confronts—from Pakistan in the west to China along the Himalayan frontier.

As India commits billions to precision warfare, it is not merely buying hardware—it is importing a philosophy of combat: speed, autonomy, standoff dominance, and information superiority. The SPICE-1000 is emblematic of this transformation.

The Maariv report concluded that while India’s Atmanirbhar Bharat doctrine remains intact, the road to self-reliance is paved with foreign partnerships. Until indigenous systems achieve parity with Israel’s offerings, New Delhi is prepared to pay a premium for reliability, accuracy, and survivability.

In doing so, India has made one thing abundantly clear: in the unforgiving calculus of modern war, precision is power—and Israeli technology is now the fulcrum of India’s strategic future.