Spice ( guidance kit ) The " SPICE " ( " Smart , Precise Impact , Cost - Effective " ) is an Israeli - developed , EO / GPS - guided guidance kit for converting air - droppable unguided bomb s 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 . Introduction . 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 . Since it has a total of 12 control surface s in 3 groups ( fore , mid - body and tail ) , the " Spice " has a very long glide range , of about 60 kilometers . This allows a striking aircraft to release a bomb at a target without entering the threat envelope of most short - and medium - range air defense systems which might protect it . This is achieved while saving the higher costs associated with propelled munitions . Operation . On the ground , an unguided bomb is fitted with a " Spice " guidance kit . Still on the ground , each bomb ' s memory " may " be loaded with up to 100 different targets , complete with their image ( usually acquired by imagery intelligence ) and geographical coordinates . The bomb is then loaded on a strike aircraft . In the pylon to which the bomb is attached there is a datalink between the aircraft ' s cockpit and the bomb . As the aircraft flies in the air and approaches a target , either the Weapon Systems Officer ( WSO – the backseater in such aircraft as the F - 15E Strike Eagle or F - 16I Sufa ) or pilot ( in single - seat aircraft ) can use the TV \ IIR display in the cockpit to see the image the bomb sends to him . Once he selected one of the preprogrammed targets , or fed the bomb with a target himself ( by feeding it with either an image or geographical coordinates to home on ) , the bomb is ready for release into a guided trajectory . Once the bomb is released , it begins searching its target in order to acquire it and home on it . This can be done in several ways : First , there is pure CCD or IIR ( for low lighting conditions ) image matching , when the guidance section uses algorithms in order to match the target image in its memory with the image provided by the seeker , and align the center of the seeker ' s FOV with the desired image . Second , if the CCD \ IIR seeker can not acquire its target for any reason ( such as visual obstructions ) , the bomb can automatically switch to GPS \ INS guidance . This means that the bomb aspires to bring itself to the target ' s altitude at a known geographical location . The bomb receives data on its " current " location from GPS satellites , or from an inertial navigation system in the bomb itself , that has been fed , through the pylon datalink , with the dropping aircraft ' s coordinates a fraction of a second before drop , and can therefore calculate its own coordinates from the dropping time and on . Third , there is a manual " man - in - the - loop " guidance option , in which the WSO looks at a backseat TV display in order to see the seeker ' s view ( sent to him through a RF datalink ) and uses the backseat stick to control the bomb all the way to the target . With a skilled WSO that has a " sensitive hand " , this guidance method is probably the most accurate one employed today for air - dropped munitions , and has no measurable miss distance . Its main drawback is that it allows for only one bomb to be guided at a time . Shipping and Storage Container . The Spice Kit Shipping and Storage Container is packaged in a Hardigg Rotomolded Container . This container holds the complete kit ; guidance unit , control unit plus 12 control surfaces and ancillaries . It is designed and manufactured by the Technical Products Division of Pelican Products . http : / / www . hardigg . com Disadvantages . The main disadvantage of the " Spice " munition is its high cost relative to GPS - guided munitions . Although many air - to - ground scenarios may indeed require the EO guidance option , many others do not , and can be completed successfully while using solely GPS guidance kits such as the JDAM , at a fraction of the cost of the " Spice " . Comparable systems . The Israeli " Spice " is comparable to the American E GBU - 15 , which also combines EO and GPS guidance and can be fitted to a variety of warheads .