India is currently working on equipping Russian-developed Su-30MKI jets with Israeli SPICE-2000 GPS-guided bombs, which were earlier used by the Indian Air Force (IAF) in an airstrike against an alleged Jaish-e Mohammad camp in Pakistan at the end of February, the news agency ANI reported, citing an anonymous high-ranking military source.
At the moment, only Mirage-2000 jets in the IAF are capable of carrying these bombs. According to the source, by equipping Su-30MKI jets with SPICE-2000 bombs, the IAF will increase its combat capabilities. The source added that the air force still needs to run some additional tests to complete the equipment process.
The Indian Air Force conducted an air raid on an alleged Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) camp in Pakistan last week as a response to the group's deadly attack on a security convoy on 14 February that claimed the lives of 40 servicemen. The attack prompted a response from the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), which downed two Indian MiG-21s and captured their pilots.
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The incident led to an escalation in tensions between the two states, but the situation was partially eased on 1 March, when Pakistan released one of the pilots as a "peace gesture". New Delhi insists that Pakistan is harbouring militants, who are conducting terrorist attacks against Indian personnel. However, Islamabad denies the accusations. In a recent development, Pakistani authorities arrested at least 44 members of JeM, including some of its key figures — Mufti Abdul Raoof and Hamad Azhar — on 5 March.
