Israel planning 'online soldier' of the future
Special to World Tribune.com
MIDDLE EAST NEWSLINE
Tuesday, December 19, 2000
TEL AVIV — Israel's military has a dream of an online soldier.
The soldier would carry a computer with GPS, an encoded cellular phone
and tactical radio — all of which can be operated with a press of a hand.
The
concept is being developed by the signal corps of the Israel Defense Forces.
"This is a mockup of the future soldier," Lt. Col. Aviad Ben-Yitzhak, a
spokesman for the corps, said. "We have decided who will have this. It
depends on money."
The image of the future soldier was displayed in a recent exhibition in
Tel Aviv by the corps, where the military conducts more research and
development than anywhere else in the Israeli land forces. The corps focuses
on telecommunications and software and its conception is of a soldier that
would never get lost and maintain direct communications with other units in
the field as well as his headquarters.
The corps, as the rest of the military, must depend on outside
contractors. The tactical computer envisioned for the soldier is Tadiran's
Tacter. Another has been developed by Elbit Systems Ltd.
Information is fed to units through ground surveillance radar supplied
by Elta Electronics Industries. The radar is capable of detecting infantry,
heavy vehicles, helicopters and tanks.
Military sources said the key to the vision of an on-line soldier is
funding for Israeli development and procurement. They point to an increasing
number of assembly lines being closed in Israel and transferred to the
United States. Israel is required to use at least 75 percent of its $2
billion in
annual U.S. military aid for purchases in the United States.
Take the Elta EL\M2129 ground surveillance radar. Israel's military
simply can't afford to pay for the system. So, Elta now produces the radar
in the United States with the firm, Telephonics. The software is developed
in Israel in cooperation with the signal corps.
Despite its ambitious programs, the corps must remain cautious. Officers
said they must provide proven technology and that often means something that
falls short of the cutting edge. At the same time, the corps must be updated
with software, an effort that demands steady funding.
"The software is also a problem because we hire consultants from the
outside," Ben-Yitzhak said. "We don't give the most advanced technology
because it must be proven."
Tuesday, December 19, 2000
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