Image source: topwar.ru
In 2023, Israel will begin testing a combat unmanned vehicle with an autonomous turret. This is reported in a press release of the Ministry of Defense of the country.
The presentation of the robotic combat vehicle took place after the announcement of Israel's order of the Negeva combat vehicle for its special forces from Israel Aerospace Industries. Also, the Israeli army receives the first Eitan armored personnel carrier, which will be used in the Nahal brigade. These acquisitions by the Israeli military indicate the country's growing interest in autonomous technologies.
The M-RCV unmanned combat vehicle was demonstrated at the defense exhibition in Paris last week. It was developed by Elbit Systems on the basis of an unmanned ground vehicle BLR-2 produced by the Israeli company BL. The autonomous tower was designed in the Department of Tanks and Armored Vehicles, subordinate to the Department of Defense Research and Development of the Ministry. Now the weapon is already being used on the new Eitan armored personnel carrier.
As for the equipment of the M-RCV, it includes the Elbit Iron Fist active protection system, "a encapsulated drone for advanced reconnaissance missions and a passive sensing kit developed by Elbit Systems and Foresight," the press release of the Israeli military department emphasizes.
Also, the robotic machine uses a number of new technologies that expand the possibilities of maneuvering, transporting heavy loads, transporting and receiving unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Some technological nuances, Defense News notes, were borrowed from two other giants of the Israeli defense industry. We are talking about a rocket launcher from Israel Aerospace Industries and Spike missiles from Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. But it is not yet clear what kind of missiles the new combat vehicle will be armed with.
The Israeli army assumes that the new car can be used for reconnaissance operations, including off-road conditions. Elbit, IAI, Rafael and the ministry did not provide additional details about the M-RCV project at the time of publication, Defense News writes.
Nevertheless, the machine is characterized as a reliable platform with multi-purpose capabilities, which is equipped with a gun with automatic target recognition, tracking and priority target selection. The car can also detect obstacles on the road and go around them. The company claims exceptional ground mobility of the platform.
Interestingly, Israel has been using unmanned vehicles for a long time. So, back in 2012, ten years ago, the Israeli military announced that they were using UGV Guardium to patrol the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip. Then several Israeli companies demonstrated their projects of unmanned vehicles.
In 2019, an unmanned combat vehicle was shown by Elbit, in 2021 – by IAI. So, the IAI project called Rex MK II was presented at the DSEI defense exhibition in London in 2021. This combat vehicle has four wheels and can carry a 7.62 mm gun. The Israel Defense Forces are already using the company's six-wheeled Jaguar. In 2021, Elbit Systems and Roboteam announced another interesting project – Rook, a six-wheeled UGV that uses robotics and the autonomous Elbit Torch-X system.
