A model of the Ice Breaker missile at the Aero India 2025 show. BDL and Rafael sign an MOU to locally produce and offer within India. (Janes/Rahul Udoshi)
India's Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Rafael Advanced Defense Systems to support the production of the Israeli company's Ice Breaker stand-off air-to-surface missile in India.
Speaking at Aero India 2025 on 11 February, a Rafael official told Janes that through the MOU the companies aim to locally manufacture the Ice Breaker missile and offer it to the Indian Armed Forces.
On announcing the agreement, Rafael and BDL said in a statement that with the production of the Ice Breaker missile, “the Indian Armed Forces can readily benefit from a next-generation weapon system tailored to their unique operational needs”. The partnership emphasises local manufacturing and transfer of “critical technologies”, it added.
Guy Gishri, marketing manager and business development – Land & Naval Systems Division at Rafael, said that feasibility studies have confirmed the potential to integrate the Ice Breaker missile onto India's fixed- and rotary-wing platforms with only minor modifications.
The Ice Breaker missile is compatible with the outer mold of the Spice 1000 munition. Platforms that can carry the Spice 1000 can integrate the Ice Breaker with minor modifications to avionics and stores certification.
Fixed-wing platforms such as the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) and MiG-29K can carry up to four missiles, while the Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) can carry a maximum of two missiles, Gishri added.
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