Israeli Artillery Shells Becoming Precision Guided Weapons

attack
JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty

(UPI) — Israel Aerospace Industries is to further develop, produce and supply the Israeli Army with course correction artillery fuzes, the company announced on Monday.

The work comes under a tender issued by the Israeli Ministry of Defense’s Directorate of Defense Research and Development. Its financial value was not disclosed.

“Following years of challenging technological development effort and multiple resources, we witness a unique technology that has matured so it can be further customized for the operational requirements of IDF,” IAI/MALAM Division General Manager Jacob Galifat said in a press release. “This project has faced us with new technological challenges, including protecting the survivability of electronic and mechanical components in a difficult firing environment and miniaturization of the entire avionics into the size of a fuze.”

“We are extremely proud of the exceptional technological capabilities that have made this development possible. We estimate the global demand for the product will be extensive and the winning of the tender in Israel will translate into business success in multiple markets worldwide.”

The fuze, called TopGun, is an add-on fuze mounted on 155mm shells. It allows guiding the shell to its a pre-defined coordinate after it has been fired. Small wings controlled by miniature avionics embedded into the fuze is used for the guidance.

Use of the fuze essentially converts standard artillery ammunition into a precision guided weapon, IAI said.

COMMENTS

Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.