IAI’s ELTA Land Division offers a wide array of Technological Solutions for the Modern Warfighter
The prevalence of asymmetric conflict over traditional mass-scale land warfare and the emergence of new and effective technologies on today’s multi-domain battlefield has created new challenges for the modern army. Today’s militaries must be equipped and trained to win a large-scale conventional conflict against well-equipped, technologically adept adversaries while, at the same time, maintaining effectiveness against insurgents, terrorists, militias, and other unlawful combatants taking advantage of new and readily available technologies to increase their lethality.
The ELTA Land Division, a subsidiary of Israel Aerospace Industries, the country’s largest aerospace and defense company, has a proven track record in designing, developing, and integrating a broad range of sensors and systems incorporating the latest technological advances. Whether the threat is on land, in the air, or from littoral areas, the group can deliver the tools needed to prevail in both the asymmetric and conventional arenas.
These tools are driven by the latest doctrine espoused by the Israel Defense Force and other leading military forces, which calls for an interdisciplinary approach, moving beyond the combined use of infantry, armor, naval and air assets as separate services to contend with a multi-dimensional battlefield. This approach focuses on convergence, the optimal use of available assets to fight in an environment where all domains are contested. The commander must decide when, where and under what conditions to converge capabilities that deliver the desired effect on the enemy. To do so effectively, intelligence is critical, and this is where technology comes in.
Battlefield Domination
Early detection and the quick and effective utilization of intelligence data to counter threats are keys to achieving battlefield domination, whether in dense, urban environments or remote expansive terrain and regardless of whether the opponent is a traditional military force or local belligerent that can blend into the surroundings easily. The question is, how is this accomplished?
One factor supporting this effort is the increasing technological competence of today’s combat personnel. New generations of soldiers who have grown up with advanced computer games, smartphones, and other modern devices are ideally suited to exploit the sophisticated equipment being increasingly made available. The goal is to take what was once a simple rifleman and transform the individual into a virtual platform. The provision of man-portable ground radars, E/O sensors, tactical SIGINT sensors, advanced communications with real-time video transmission, incoming fire sensors, and other tools, with all the data that they generate easily shared between team members, enables IAI’s ELTA to provide today’s combat soldier with capabilities that earlier generations could only have dreamed of.
Detect Your Enemy
As a world-leading radar house, ELTA is a pioneer in the development of both hardware, including Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radars using Gallium Nitride (GaN) technology, and advanced software employing Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Big Data and Predictive Analysis. All of these contribute to more effective threat detection and classification. Moreover, ELTA has developed a Multi-Intelligence (Multi-INT) Analysis Platform (Starlight ELS-8994) to provide commanders, warfighters, and intelligence analysts with innovative decision support tools.
The company also delivers comprehensive systems to counter specific threats. For example, Drone Guard ELI-4030, which can be deployed from stationary positions or moving vehicles, integrates advanced 3D radar, COMINT, E/O, and soft and hard kill capabilities into a unified multi-layered system that detects, discriminates, and neutralizes small hard-to-detect drones, which may have been crudely but effectively weaponized. Advanced automated features ensure continual vigilance against this real threat.
Examples include Fire Detection Sensors and Automated Remote Weapons Stations (RWS). ELTA is a pioneer in designing and developing advanced fire detection radars, including the WindGuard ELM-2133 and StormGuard ELM-2135. These proven systems, which anchor Active Protection Systems, detect and track incoming threats so that they can be neutralized. The RWS integrates an entire array of sensors, including radar, E/O, and fire detection optics (Othello ELO-5220), together with Automatic Target Recognition software to discriminate and react to threats.
Complementing this wide array of in-house sensors and systems, the group has broadened its range of compact, rugged, all-terrain vehicles, further strengthening its ability to offer complete turnkey mobile solutions. Added to the combat-proven RAM, a full monocoque light armored vehicle manufactured at the IAI’s ELTA Land Division facility in Beersheba, Israel, for many years, the company has expanded production with the unique Z-family of rugged, high agility off-road platforms. These include the ZMAG, ZD, and ZBAR, which provide unparalleled off-road performance to a wide range of users, from elite special operations units to border police. In addition, the company has partnered with the armored vehicle manufacturer to offer the SENATOR, a unique vehicle that has found acceptance with customers worldwide. As OEM for both vehicles and systems, ELTA can tailor the optimal solution for each Customer’s operational requirements and ensure timely and effective integration.
Perhaps the ultimate expression of technological prowess can be found in the land division’s line of autonomous platforms, which perform combat engineering, supply, perimeter security, emergency response, battlefield surveillance, and even armed interdiction duties without exposing personnel to danger. Even more advanced capabilities have been demonstrated on an autonomous vehicle equipped to perform C5ISTAR: Command & Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition, and Reconnaissance. The crew on this platform is tasked with battlefield command and control while vehicle operation and navigation are performed autonomously.
With over 50 years of experience pioneering solutions for military and security organizations, IAI’s Elta is committed to continuing this successful legacy with a holistic approach that provides operators and commanders with the cutting-edge tools needed to win on today’s multi-domain battlefield.
