In February, the Israel Defence Forces released a statement announcing the conclusion of a joint exercise with Greek and American infantry forces in Greece. The IDF Oz Brigade, also known as the commando brigade, and the reconnaissance unit of the Nahal Brigade participated in the multi-day exercise with their American and Greek counterparts.
Last month, a joint military exercise involving dozens of fighter jets and air support aircraft was completed by the Israeli and Greek air forces. According to the Israel Defence Forces, during the drill, dozens of aircraft flew for several hours from Israel deep into Greece before heading back.
The two joint exercises allowed the Greek armed forces to see some of the Israeli defence systems in action.
According to the Greek website Ekathimerini.com, the Greek Government Council for Foreign and Defence Affairs (KYSEA) recently approved the acquisition of some Israeli-made systems. The acquisition will include some types of the Rafael Spice air-launched bombs. Spice is a family of stand-off, autonomous, air-to-surface weapon systems that provide affordable precision in a GPS-denied environment. The combat-proven SPICE family of products includes two guidance kits, SPICE 1000 and SPICE 2000, as well as an all-up round known as SPICE 250.
In earlier years, before the Spice-250 became operational with the Israeli air force, only the Spice 1000 and Spice 2000 (iron bombs with a guidance kit) have been used in airstrikes.
SPICE-250 has a standoff range of 62 miles and can be equipped with either a general-purpose or penetration 75kg class warhead. According to Rafael, the Automatic Target Recognition (ATR) is only one of the SPICE-250’s array of technologies, which includes Automatic Target Acquisition (ATA) and Moving-Target-Detection homing modes, all of which are based on autonomous electro-optic Scene-Matching Algorithms.
The ATR feature is a technological breakthrough, enabling SPICE-250 to effectively learn the specific target characteristics ahead of the strike, using advanced AI and deep-learning technologies. During flight, the pilot selects the target type to be attacked and allocates a target to each weapon. The weapons are launched towards the vicinity of the targets, using their INS for initial navigation. When approaching the target area, the weapons use the ATR mode for detection and recognition of the targets. Each weapon homes in on the predefined target, either autonomously or with a human-in-the-loop, aided by the ATR algorithm. According to Rafael, the combination of the increased loadout of SPICE-250, the unique homing methods for various scenarios, and the effective .75 KGS warhead enables a high volume, autonomous, and precise strike capability against multiple target types, with an assured very low collateral damage.
SPICE-250 uses a common aircraft interface and a sophisticated Smart Quad Rack (SQR) that simplifies the effort needed for aircraft integration. Four SPICE-250 weapons are carried on each SQR. SPICE-250 can be directly mounted on light attack aircraft store stations, thanks to its small size and lightweight.
Greece also plans to acquire the Rampage, an air-to-surface weapon developed jointly by Elbit Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). According to the companies, the Rampage offers a unique combination of the knowhow, technological assets, and cumulative experience of both companies.
Developed in response to a clear operational need on the future battlefield, the Rampage is a munition dropped from outside the area protected by air defence missiles. The Rampage warhead, rocket, and advanced navigation suite allow the execution of the assault mission on high-quality, well-protected targets with utmost precision. The Rampage features optimal penetration capability into protected areas. Its focal precision prevents collateral damage at a very low mission cost compared to existing solutions. The Rampage can operate in any weather conditions, as well as day and night. It offers simplified operation, with no need for a “man in the loop,” and can be carried on a broad range of aircraft manufactured by Western or Eastern countries. The total weight of the missile is 570 kg, and it is 4.7 meters long.
