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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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