Elbit Systems Is a Leader in the Development and Supply of Advanced Systems for the Merkava Tanks and the Namer and Eitan APCs

It is indisputable that the current doctrine of combat is radically different from the one that IDF soldiers were required to follow until a few years ago. Clearly, the penetration of technological developments into the battlefield, including the APCs of the armor, engineering, and infantry units of various kinds, has changed the rules of the game beyond recognition, a process that is expected to continue and intensify.

"Our outstanding tank commanders of the past were trained to gain an advantage over the enemy and succeed in their mission by sticking their upper body through the hatch of the tank turret. This enabled them, at considerable personal risk, to better understand what was happening in their sector, coordinate the missions, and direct the fire. Even the transition to today’s digital command and control systems has not satisfied the basic need for the tank commander to understand the situation outside the vehicle, and a wealth of information has added a great deal of functional load," says Idan Tavor, VP Combat Vehicles and Robotics in the Land Division of Elbit Systems.

Tavor presents a fascinating process to illustrate the upgrading of the capabilities of present-day combatants, in combination with work done behind the scenes by the defense industry. The latter works shoulder to shoulder with the Tank and APC Directorate in the Ministry of Defense (MANTAK), the technological units in the IDF, and the combat units to provide them with the added value they need at the moment of truth. "Whether its tank-crew men, infantrymen, or combat engineering fighters, with the advanced systems we provide to the IDF, they come to the field today with a distinct advantage, designed to help them carry out their missions in the best possible way," he said.

Pilot's helmet for tank crews
In recent years, Elbit Systems has made a supreme effort in transitioning to "closed hatch" combat, using sights and sophisticated peripheral vision systems that include artificial intelligence for self-detection of threats, together with advanced display systems to improve functioning during the battle. In addition to the sensors that are found in a significant number on all IDF vehicles today, Tavor described a revolutionary system, the first of its kind in the world, called Iron Vision, a kind of "pilot helmet" designed especially for tank crews, which is rightly considered to be a breakthrough security development. Iron Vision is an augmented reality reflector mounted on the tank commander's helmet that allows him to see "through the armor," so that wherever he turns his head, the system continues to follow him and provide him with a comprehensive picture of everything that is happening around him outside the tank. The system works by projecting a "stitched" panoramic image through peripheral vision cameras that are brought to the user's eyes with minimal delay, using fast and accurate tracking based on the movement of the user’s head.

Tavor points out that "the greatest challenge in the system lies in the user's dynamic environment and in coping with the 'motion sickness,' when the turret faces in one direction, the tank moves in another, the fighter's eyes are turned in a third direction, all this while the crew is unsteady and tossed around, at the same time continuing to operate the tank in motion. The ability of this system is amazing. It manages to process information at a very high speed, display vital information through the projected video, allowing the use of devices to be the eyes of the tank commander in order to make it possible for the crew to continue to operate the tank systems from within the turret.”

Unique developments for the Merkava tank and the APC systems
For more than four decades, Elbit has been supplying many systems to the Merkava tanks and other armored vehicles in the IDF. These systems are endowed with wonderful abilities that ignite the imagination and prove themselves practically in the field. They are the result of a unique development by Elbit Systems, based on the requirements of the Tank Development Authority (TDA) in the IDF. Among the prominent systems that Elbit is responsible for are fire and turret control systems, sights, driving controls, air conditioning, auxiliary cargo, and more.

With the recent purchase of IMI Systems by the Elbit Systems group, additional components came under its responsibility: the tank gun, the ammunition, and a portion of the armor of the vehicles. In addition, Elbit is responsible for developing and supplying a rescue and maintenance version of the Namer APC as well as the intermediate combat version of the Merkava. "Beyond the constant improvement of all the systems we provide, in recent years Elbit has focused on developing a variety of capabilities to enable high-quality combat that incorporates advanced software for collecting information in the field, processing it, and presenting it in a simple and efficient manner to the crew," adds Tavor.

What challenges do Elbit's PCA systems face?
"Together with the IDF TDA, we are writing the control software that runs inside the system. Current control systems have an unprecedented amount of artificial intelligence capabilities. They make it possible to acquire and discover targets autonomously, with the help of the advanced computers of the tank, to process the data into a situational picture and present the necessary data to the crew, providing an operational advantage in the field. This is a complex task because it must be carried out while preventing 'cognitive overload,' a term that describes a flood of information that is liable to create confusion in the tank crew. To reduce these situations, we established a unique operations laboratory for human engineering at Elbit. Its role is to provide as smart as possible access to data and facilitate the simplest training processes for the tank crew. The software has already gone through a series of tests and received excellent feedback, mainly thanks to its simplicity of operation and discovery, not to mention display capabilities that have not been seen before."

The future of APC systems
Elbit Systems does not rest on its laurels and continues to work vigorously to provide solutions to future security challenges. According to the company, there are two main directions in which the improvement efforts in advanced systems for APCs are headed. The first includes intensive work to reduce the number of crew members as an intermediate step toward a transition, in the more distant future, to unmanned vehicles. This activity is in addition to the development of joint technologies in the areas of automation and autonomy. A prominent example of such a development is the unmanned turrets and weapon systems of 0.5 and 30 mm diameter in which Elbit's capabilities are integrated as a significant part of the leading IDF APCs: Merkava, Namer, and Eitan.

Another development of the Land Division at Elbit Systems is the unique Hatsav tank shell, developed in collaboration with the Ground Forces Command and the IDF's Armored Corps. One of the impressive capabilities of Hatsav is penetrating walls and exploding inside a building. The shell belongs to the family of advanced tank shells serving the IDF (along with Rakefet and Kalanit). It has a diameter of 120 mm and a high level of accuracy. It gives the tank surgical warfare capabilities that minimize collateral damage, maintaining the thrust and pressure inside the structure, which increases the lethality of the shell and helps accomplish the mission.

According to Tavor: "This is an exceptional technological solution that was developed in view of the need to cope with terrorists hiding in built-up areas, at the same time minimizing harm to those not involved. The development of the shell is a result of lessons learned from previous rounds of combat, including the Second Lebanon War and Operation Cast Lead, during which the tanks encountered these types of difficulties. The shell also solves an operational problem: a conventional shell fired at a terrorist inside a building will succeed in penetrating into it through several protective layers."

The fields of autonomous driving and fire control systems are also being developed. In the foreseeable future, these systems will also contain artificial intelligence, a move that will significantly reduce the duration of training of gunners, machine gunners, and APC drivers. Human involvement will be required only to supervise and control the selection of targets and firing at them, and to select a target for movement.

Iron Fist, an active defense system with 360⁰ coverage
Elbit Systems' Iron Fist has successfully completed a series of interception tests, as part of a full development process for the Eitan APCs and the D9 bulldozers.

The Tank and APC Directorate in the Ministry of Defense, the Weapons Department of the Ground Forces, and the Land Division at Elbit Systems recently announced the completion of a successful series of tests for the Iron Fist active defense system.

Iron Fist is part of the development process of the Eitan APC and D9 bulldozers. It has 360-degree coverage capability against threats from different ranges in both open or built-up areas. In addition to these capabilities, it also enables the APC crew to locate the sources of fire and eliminate them, and to cope with complex battlefields, saturated with threats. The system also features advanced sensing capabilities that include launchers and interceptors, which allow threats to be neutralized at a safe distance from the APC.

Brigadier General Oren Giber, Head of the Tank and APC Directorate (MANTAK): "MANTAK is currently completing its preparation for the delivery of the Eitan, an advanced 8´8 wheeled APC, the result of self-development for the IDF. The Iron Fist system is part of this project. It is in the advanced stages of development and integration with the Eitan and the bulldozer, and these days it is undergoing intensive testing to ensure its suitability for the battlefield. Iron Fist is intended to be a quantum leap in the level of protection of APCs and to ensure the ability of the vehicles to move in threatened areas while protecting the fighters."

Brigadier General Aviram Sela, Chief of Staff of the Ground Forces: "The Iron Fist system is part of the Ground Forces’ effort to increase the ability to protect the forces maneuvering on the battlefield. The system is expected to expand the operational capabilities of the combat crews fighting on the wheeled Eitan and the D9 bulldozers. The successful series of tests is a significant milestone in the joint development process for the Land Forces, MANTAK of the Ministry of Defense, and Elbit Systems."

Yehuda (Udi) Vered, General Manager of the Land Division of Elbit Systems: "As an Israeli defense company, we are proud to provide the fighting forces in the IDF with advanced active defense technology, which is a significant contribution to the security of the personnel and the continuity of the mission. Iron Fist is an advanced and unique system, one of its kind in the world. It is a lightweight system that can be placed on light APCs such as AFVs, bulldozers, and vehicles."

In collaboration with Elbit Systems