Israel orders Elbit Systems’ Iron Sting precision mortars
An Elbit official told Breaking Defense the order marks the first large-scale Iron Sting contract, while interest is growing abroad.
An Elbit official told Breaking Defense the order marks the first large-scale Iron Sting contract, while interest is growing abroad.
During a visit to a military base in central Israel, Breaking Defense received a rare look at the 120mm mortar up-close, alongside Lt. Col. Liron Cohen, an IDF officer who helped develop it through the Ministry of Defense’s Directorate of Defense Research and Development.
The new chassis provides a much higher level of anti-mine and ballistic protection than previous designs for a key part of Poland's land forces.
Elbit’s 120 mm mortar uses GPS and lasers to make the infantry’s favorite heavy weapon precision-guided – and the US is looking to upgrade its own 120s on Strykers and AMPVs.
A new training network will simulate the effects of weapons — from mortars and grenades to, potentially, germ warfare — and tell troops if they’re “killed” or “wounded,” then play the whole exercise back for AI analysis. One Army engineer told us: “We’ve never been able to train this stuff, never.”
In Iraq, M113 variants were deemed too vulnerable to roadside bombs and confined to base. But in a fast-moving mechanized war in Eastern Europe, the armored brigades would need support vehicles that stand a chance against Russian firepower.
Government can’t stop to update systems, so modernization has to happen without interruptions.
This week's experiment used a small zoo of specialized systems remote-controlled by humans, each with its own modest niche, working closely with each other and human forces.
QUANTICO: A hovercraft that shoots salvoes of rockets. A speedboat that turns into a submarine. A mobile 3D printing factory. A big wooden box with wings (yes, really). And, of course, more drones than you can shake a stick at (because they swarm). These are just a few of the roughly 100 technologies the Marine […]
[UPDATED with details on latest strikes] Yesterday, President Obama ordered humanitarian airdrops to Iraqi refugees and authorized — but did not actually launch — airstrikes on Islamic State forces threatening either the refugees or Erbil, the capital of quasi-independent Kurdistan. This morning, at 6:45 am Washington time, the other shoe dropped, in the form of 500-pound smart bombs […]
CAPITOL HILL: The recent death of Bill Young, longtime power on the House Appropriations Committee, opened the door to a new chairman of the defense subcommittee. Today New Jersey’s Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen stepped through that door. Frelinghuysen has served on the defense subcommittee since 1999. He was its vice-chairman. The most likely winner from the veteran […]