Elbit selected to produce new howitzer for IDF

[DavidSling]

Yaakov Lappin, Tel Aviv and Peter Felstead, London - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly
06 April 2017

The Israel Ministry of Defense (MoD) announced on 4 April that it had selected Elbit Systems to develop and produce a new artillery gun for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

The MoD declined to provide any additional details other that the new gun will be produced at Elbit's artillery factory in Yokneam, northern Israel.

The IDF's new howitzer will be based on the Elbit ATMOS. (Elbit Systems)

Defence sources said the MoD's Administration for the Development of Weapons and Technological Infrastructure selected the Elbit gun after setting up a commission to examine contenders. Industry sources told Jane's that the MoD has not yet placed an official order with Elbit.

Jane's understands that the gun selected for the IDF Artillery Corps is based on Elbit's 155 mm ATMOS self-propelled howitzer, although it will not be identical to it. The IDF variant will have additional technologies, although no further details on these are currently available.

Developed by Soltam Systems, which was acquired by Elbit in 2010, the ATMOS is already in service with a number of export customers. It has automatic laying and loading systems and an electronic suite that Elbit says enables "accurate navigation and autonomous operation, reduced crew size, increased fire power, and high precision accuracy". It can be mounted on any 6x6 or 8x8 high-mobility tactical truck.

A senior source from the IDF Artillery Corps told Jane's in March that its next-generation 155 mm guns would be able to fire GPS-guided shells as well as unguided ones. The corps is in the process of acquiring Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) TopGun GPS-guidance systems, which are fitted to existing unguided shells where the fuse is normally attached.

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http://www.janes.com/article/69367/elbit-selected-to-produce-new-howitzer-for-idf

@Penguin @500 @Natan @Archdemon @GBU-28 @F-15I @mike2000 is back @Blue Marlin @Mountain Jew @Beny Karachun @Adir-M @Ilay @theman111

 

[DavidSling]

Elbit selected to develop IDF artillery capability

4 Apr, 2017 19:27
Yuval Azulai
The bid by a consortium of IAI, IMI, and German company KMW was rejected.




Israel's Ministry of Defense today announced that Israeli defense electronics developer Elbit Systems Ltd. (Nasdaq: Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. (IAI) (TASE: Israel Military Industries Ltd. (IMI) and German company KMW for joint production of the future cannon. Sources close to these companies, however, were worried that the Ministry of Defense would give the giant venture to Elbit Systems under a single supplier deal for the program.

The Ministry of Defense was careful to maintain ambiguity in the media concerning the decision-making process for this question, declining to spell out its considerations in considering the future cannon. The plan is prestigious and expensive. The monetary value of the project was not stated, but defense sources previously estimated the cost of procuring the guns would be at least $800 million.

Defense sources today said that a special committee in the Ministry of Defense Administration for the Development of Weapons and Technological Infrastructure had analyzed all of the alternatives for the future IDF cannon, and had recommended to Ministry of Defense director general Maj. Gen. (res.) Udi Adam that the Elbit Systems proposal be accepted. The sources added that the committee members had received professional opinions from all the relevant parties in the defense establishment, and that the director general's approval had been legal. Adam is a former IMI chairman.

The gun selected by the Ministry of Defense, which Elbit Systems will develop and produce in the coming years, is the Atmos 155-mm self-propelled howitzer. The IDF demanded a weapon capable of firing six shells a minute at a range of 40 kilometers. The new howitzers will gradually replace the obsolete M-109s that the IDF Artillery Corps has been using for several decades.

Elbit Systems has been active in this area since it acquired Yokneam-based Soltam in 2010. It has sold similar cannons to armies around the world. In order to meet the specifications set by the Ministry of Defense, however, it developed a new version of the howitzer, for which informed defense sources said the initial firing trials would take place only one month from now.

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Defense cos battle for huge IDF artillery order
While Elbit Systems is preparing for firing trials of the new cannon, German company KMW, through IAI and IMI, offered the AGM system, which complies with the IDF specifications. Sources close to these companies recently asserted, however, that even though the companies had offered to bring the German howitzer to Israel for a series of demonstrations in order to prove its capabilities, and especially its ability to supply it more quickly to IDF forces, the Administration for the Development of Weapons and Technological Infrastructure had rejected the proposal.

Two months ago, "Globes" revealed that in a closed discussion in the Ministry of Defense, a senior official had decided that the future cannon would be based completely on Israeli industry, with an eye to installing future revisions in it in accordance with the IDF's operational needs, and for reasons having to do with intellectual property.

According to the senior source, production of the future cannon should be in Israel in order to avoid future restrictions on how it is used under various battle scenarios, including the types of shells that can be used. This requirement, according to the source, was made clearer in the process of drawing conclusions from Operation Protective Edge in the summer of 2014, and by concern about a weapons embargo or other restrictions that could be applied to Israel in a future war.

Sources involved in the matter today refused to cite a timetable for the supply of the new artillery systems to the IDF. At the same time, some of the sources argued that the decision to select Elbit Systems as a sole supplier in the project, rather than publish an international tender soliciting additional bids for making the cannon, was very good news to residents of northern Israel. This project is likely to provide jobs for 1,500 employees in the Yokneam and northern region for many years.

In the past, however, other sources said that the IAI bid would also have been good news for residents of outlying areas, because IAI planned to establish assembly lines for the German howitzer at IAI's RAMTA division in Beer Sheva. Orders for this division have been unstable in recent years.

A defense establishment source recently said that 40% of the deals by the Ministry of Defense had been with sole suppliers, and had been exempt from a tender or any other competitive process, even if such a process could have resulted in lower prices.

Published by Globes [online], Israel Business News - www.globes-online.com - on April 4, 2017

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2017

http://www.globes.co.il/en/article-...o-develop-idf-artillery-capability-1001184031

 

[DavidSling]

Artillery Systems


Elbit Systems manufactures a wide range of highly-accurate artillery systems. The Company’s full line of 155mm howitzers enable ranges of up to 41km, and feature various caliber tube lengths. These highly accurate artillery systems incorporate advanced design and are equipped with a full electronic suite, a fire control (FC) computer and targeting equipment.

These systems are available as truck-mounted (Soltam ATMOS), towed (Soltam ATHOS), self-propelled (Soltam ATMOS D-30), or as standalone products.

http://elbitsystems.com/product/artillery-systems/

 

[DavidSling]

 

[DavidSling]

Zuk's Happy Place

4/4/17
Elbit chosen to supply Israel's future SPH[/paste:font]

In an unsurprising move, Elbit was selected as the winner in the "tender" for the IDF's future Self Propelled Howitzer. After a decade of debate, development of a custom built howitzer is now underway.
This follows months of analysis of alternatives by MAFAT (Research and Development Agency), and consultations with all relevant bodies.

Despite Elbit's victory not surprising anyone, it does appear odd that the winner, Elbit, is the only one in the tender to not actually present a functional system. At least not in the required configuration.

Its ATMOS 2000 has been used by numerous countries and trialed in Israel where it fired several thousand rounds already. But the new configuration it offers to the IDF is said to be completely untested.

The ATMOS 2000 in Elbit's portfolio is a modern and capable system, but is built for export and thus not optimal for IDF's needs. Therefore, it is speculated that the IDF requested the ATMOS's systems and subsystems (e.g gun, GPS, laying system, sensors, FCS) to be transferred to another, existing platform, supposedly a Merkava chassis.

The Merkava has been the basis for a wide family of vehicles due to its naturally flexible construction, including a prototype howitzer before.

Another alternative to the Merkava chassis, which was said to be considered, is the M270's chassis. This would allow the IDF to utilize aid money to purchase parts of the SPH and would create a commonality within the artillery corps, as the supply vehicles and MLRS utilize the same chassis.
KMW+IAI proposed the AGM (Artillery Gun Module) that follows this principle, however such decision would be short-sighted, as the supply vehicles are also becoming outdated, and the MLRS could be mounted on the IDF's recently acquired FMTV trucks, utilizing the Lynx architecture by IMI. Effectively creating a HIMARS equivalent.


AGM by KMW and IAI on M270 chassis

HIMARS utilizing Oshkosh FMTV truck and MLRS module


Elbit will develop the new SPH through its subsidiary Soltam.


http://www.israeldefense.co.il/he/node/29137

https://zuk-armor-il.blogspot.co.il/

 

[DavidSling]

רוצים לראות את התותח הבא של חת"מ? רוצים לראות את הכלים הכי חדשים של זרוע היבשה? תבואו לשבוע לטרון ב16 למאי ותראו
תמונות: דו"צ

 

[Penguin]

AGM by KMW and IAI on M270 chassis

That is NOT the M270 chassis but a modified chassis of the ASCOD 2 IFV. This system is called Donar.

This is AGM on the MLRS chassis

ALternative chassis are:

Leo2

Boxer 8x8

Truck mounted

Containerized

https://defence.pk/pdf/threads/fast...sniper-howitzer-revealed.414251/#post-8010147

 

[TruthHurtz]

רוצים לראות את התותח הבא של חת"מ? רוצים לראות את הכלים הכי חדשים של זרוע היבשה? תבואו לשבוע לטרון ב16 למאי ותראו
תמונות: דו"צ

speak ENGLISH not ur poverty language geek smh

 

[BordoEnes]

speak ENGLISH not ur poverty language geek smh

A rather unnecessary and childish remark. Grow up.

 

[TruthHurtz]

A rather unnecessary and childish remark. Grow up.

absolutely necessary when it comes to the shlomos, these yarmulke wearing yids gotta understand that a supreme aryan male doesnt want to see them speak their bastardised phoenician when hes browsing forums etc

 

[Natan]

רוצים לראות את התותח הבא של חת"מ? רוצים לראות את הכלים הכי חדשים של זרוע היבשה? תבואו לשבוע לטרון ב16 למאי ותראו
תמונות: דו"צ

מאיפה המידע?

 

[DavidSling]

מאיפה המידע?

Israeldefense

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1522336651149800

 

[DavidSling]

The New IDF Gun Shifts into High Gear
Amir Rapaport visited Elbit Systems' plant in Yokne'am, where the new mega-project of the IDF Ground Arm has been set in motion, and spoke to Elbit Systems' VP Land & C4I Systems, Boaz Cohen, about his division's primary growth engines: guns and robotics

Amir Rapaport | 17/05/2017

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An Elbit gun at the exhibition complementing the 2nd Ground Warfare and Logistics Conference in Latrun (Photo: Giiad Kavalerchik)

Very few things remind the visitor of the days of Soltam at Elbit Systems' plant in Yokne'am: the Soltam gun plant, which knew better days but also countless labor disputes and crisis situations, had been acquired by Elbit Systems at the outset of the present decade and was transformed.

Today, Elbit Systems concentrates its land activities at the Yokne'am plant, including futuristic developments in the field of robotics. The manufacturing machinery has been replaced through a massive financial investment, and the working environment has changed accordingly – alongside the modern production halls they now have elegant dining rooms and cutting-edge fitness facilities for the benefit of the employees.

One of the primary projects handled at Elbit Systems' Yokne'am plant generates tremendous expectations in the IDF: it involves the development of the new self-propelled gun for the IDF Artillery Corps. This project has been set in motion as one of the primary acquisition programs of the IDF Ground Arm, after years of delays. In fact, during the time of Soltam, back in the 1980s, the development of a new gun designated 'Sholef' was under way in Yokne'am. That project was never completed, but German companies implemented its technology for the benefit of the development and manufacture of the Panzerhaubitze 2000 (PzH 2000) guns, currently sold around the world.

30 years later, Elbit Systems was awarded the contract for the development of the new self-propelled gun system for the IDF as a primary project, having won a competition against other bids, including a proposed cooperative alliance between IAI and KMW of Germany. The client is IMOD's Defense Research and Development Directorate (DDR&D, also known as MAFAT).

The decision to name Elbit Systems as the winner of the tender was endorsed in April 2017 by the Director General of IMOD, Maj. Gen. (res.) Udi Adam. Sources at IMOD said about the decision that "The analysis of the alternatives and the consolidation of the recommendation submitted to the DG of IMOD were carried out by the committee for the selection of developers at DDR&D, which received and reviewed numerous professional statements of opinion from all of the relevant elements within the defense establishment."

Following the announcement of the winner, the gun development project shifted into high gear, and recent activities have included a series of fire trials which started in the spring of 2017 and will continue well into the summer. A dedicated administration within Elbit Systems, headed by Ofer Zuriel, is leading the project. The prototype of the new gun system is already on display at the heart of the Yokne'am plant, but by April 2017, the Company has not allowed us to photograph and unveil it to the public. At the same time, a lot may already be reported about the new gun system: it will replace the 'Doher' guns currently in IDF use – the US-made M-109 guns supplied to the IDF in the 1970s. The service of these guns was extended and stretched far beyond normal limits.

Unlike the outdated 'Doher' guns, the new gun system will be fully autonomous and automatic. It will have a 155mm, 52 caliber barrel enabling it to fire to a range of 40 kilometers. Although the gun system may be operated by a single person, it is reasonable to assume that the crew will consist of 3-6 troopers, as opposed to the 10 men crew that currently operates each 'Doher' gun.

The IDF authorities are yet to decide whether the new self-propelled gun will be mounted on a wheeled or tracked chassis, and it is definitely possible that it would be versatile.

"The platform is less important," sources at Elbit Systems told us. "What's really important is for the new self-propelled gun system to evolve into a fighting system suitable for modern warfare environments that typically consist of urban areas containing enemy forces that are extremely difficult to spot. In these environments, the enemy often disappears from the display screens just seconds after it had popped up on them."

The new gun system will enable very prompt target engagement with an accuracy of a few meters, owing to the integration of the new high-precision fuze currently being developed for the IDF Artillery Corps by IAI. IMI Systems takes part in the new gun project – they are developing and manufacturing a new modular propellant that would enable high rates of fire.

According to its specifications, the new self-propelled gun system will include a fully autonomous robotic loading system. In fact, no operators will man the gun turret, just as there are no operators in the launching turrets of the MLRS rocket system. The loading system will be able to pick up the appropriate cartridge, arm it with the required fuze, and guide it independently into the gun barrel. Each gun will constitute an independent fire unit, transferring the data to a fire management center that may be located very far from the gun units. The fast reloading and recoiling cycle determines the rate of fire, and in fact there are no restrictions on maintaining a rate of fire of 8 rounds per minute, as long as the self-propelled gun unit has the appropriate ammunition. As the firing is fully automatic, the operators will not become exhausted. The barrel of the new gun system will also be able to withstand the increased rate of fire.

Sources at Elbit Systems told us that combining the capabilities of the new gun system with the high-precision fuze being developed by IAI will lead to much more than a battlefield revolution, owing to the renewed option of incorporating artillery elements in modern warfare profiles (today, artillery elements cannot take part in many combat scenarios, owing to the concerns regarding possible collateral damage inflicted on uninvolved parties). "Integrating the new fuze will reduce the number of shells that need to be fired in order to hit each target while improving the effectiveness of each round fired."

At the same time as developing the new gun system into a precision fire asset, the IDF Artillery Corps will retain the capability of the gun system as a "statistical fire weapon system" by using standard (as opposed to high precision) fuzes. Statistical fire offers some significant advantages over high-precision fire for the purpose of disrupting enemy activities in area cells that do not constitute pinpoint targets (In fact, this was one of the lessons derived from Operation Protective Edge in the Gaza Strip in the summer of 2014).

***

The complete interview can be found in issue 37 of Israel Defense magazine. To subscribe, click here.

http://www.israeldefense.co.il/en/node/29649

 

[DavidSling]

A Bit On The ATMOS
Scratch everything I've said so far about the ATMOS and Elbit's proposal. This gun will not be the total mess I predicted it to be, if we're to believe Elbit regarding their plans for the artillery system. This, I believe, is the first time in a long time that they've given us new technical information.

Here goes:
1)The new howitzer will have autonomous engagement as well as fully autonomous loading. A crew of just 1 person is said to be able to make efficient use of the vehicle, as loaders and gunners aren't necessary. The turret will remain entirely unmanned.

2)Crew of 3 or up to 6 may be kept nonetheless if the IDF deems it more appropriate.

3)Each gun will be an independent fire unit. Fire could be directed via a remote Fire Control Center.

4)Testing will continue until the end of summer 2017.

5)Yet unknown whether it will be mounted on wheeled or tracked chassis. They say it won't affect the vehicle's non-mobility related performance.

6)A new precision fire fuze has been integrated to allow cannon artillery a cheap precision fire capability. This would add up to 3 different arrays within the artillery corps to have precision fire capabilities. The fuze is made by IAI and dubbed "TopGun".

7)A restriction on rate of fire of 8 rounds per minute is hinted, but said that it can be simply ignored if there are enough available rounds.

8)The vehicle's computers will be able to select the appropriate shell, fuze, and charge (modular charges) according to the mission without any human input.

https://zuk-armor-il.blogspot.co.il/

@Penguin @500 @Natan @Archdemon @GBU-28 @F-15I @mike2000 is back @Blue Marlin @Mountain Jew @Beny Karachun @Adir-M @Ilay @theman111

 

[DavidSling]

Committee to probe IDF-Elbit artillery contract

18 May, 2017 18:48
Yuval Azulai
The need for the cannons and the quantity to be ordered will be reexamined and weighed against Israel's future defense needs.




A special joint Ministry of Defense-IDF committee will assess the procurement plan for new self-propelled artillery, Minister of Defense Avigdor Liberman and IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot have agreed. Deputy Chief of Staff Major General Aviv Kochavi will head the committee. The probe will probably take several months, and will involve professional personnel in the IDF, the Ministry of Defense Administration for the Development of Weapons and Technological Infrastructure, and other agencies.

Sources inform "Globes" that the decision to appoint the committee was taken in recent days, following consultations on the subject between Liberman and Eizenkot. They further agreed that until the committee reaches its final conclusions and formulates its recommendations, the Ministry of Defense will not conclude an agreement with Elbit Systems Ltd. (Nasdaq:
IDF artillery deal - no tender, no transparency
Elbit Systems reports higher revenue, flat profit
Defense sources expressed amazement at the Ministry of Defense's decision to make a huge agreement with Elbit Systems as a sole supplier without any tender for examining the bid by German company KMW, which combined with Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. (IAI) (TASE: Israel Military Industries Ltd. (IMI) to offer its K-9 semiautomatic cannon. The Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee also discussed this matter this week. Part of the discussion focused on the Ministry of Defense's agreement with Elbit Systems as a sole supplier without a tender. The Ministry of Defense is refusing to publicly explain its considerations in the matter, saying that the matter is secret, and that all the alternative bids had in any case been closely examined.

"The entire process that led to the selection of Elbit Systems was accompanied by legal advice, and it cannot be said that this was a decision taken in secret," a Ministry of Defense source said.

Liberman and Eizenkot's decision to establish a committee headed by Kochavi is designed to assess the validity of the decision taken by the Administration for the Development of Weapons and Technological Infrastructure and ratified by Adam. "$1.5 billion is a lot of money, and before the Ministry of Defense contracts with Elbit Systems in this matter, the need for these cannons and the quantity to be ordered must be reexamined and weighed against Israel's future defense needs, and with a long-term view of the modern future battlefield," a defense source familiar with the particulars told "Globes."

The source added that the assessment process to be conducted in the framework of the deliberations of the committee headed by Kochavi would also include the function of the artillery system on the future battlefield, given the expected technological developments in the coming years and the availability of precision armaments at various ranges, such as precision guided rockets, some of which have ranges in the hundreds of kilometers. These armaments have been adapted by defense companies for asymmetric warfare also taking place in urban regions.

The IDF spokesman declined to respond to the report.

Published by Globes [online], Israel Business News - www.globes-online.com - on May 18, 2017

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2017

http://www.globes.co.il/en/article-committee-to-probe-idf-elbit-artillery-contract-1001189274