The system includes a radar, as well as links to a 30mm gun and missile system for downing threats within ranges of seven kilometers and 15,000 feet, according to a company executive.
David Harel, CEO of the Israeli firm Asio Technologies, told Breaking Defense his company’s Orion device has deployed by the thousands with Israeli soldiers in Gaza.
The decision comes amid Ukrainian clamoring for the system, though analysts doubted Israeli batteries would make their way north due to Russian sensitivities.
Breaking Defense talked with a tank company commander who is helping to create the new units, which will mean less reliance on reservists for tank operations.
IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi visited an Israeli base home to F-35s on Monday, emphasizing Iran’s missiles had caused only minor damage to the facility.
The war in “Ukraine and what happened in Israel has put in the spotlight the use of unmanned systems,” UVision exec Izthik Huber told Breaking Defense.
The new brigade represents a consolidation of Israeli forces in the north, which an IDF official told Breaking Defense made sense as operating across the whole mountainous area requires specialized gear, vehicles and training.
With thousands of their employees called up to the reserves, the companies moved to 24/7 shifts to supply the IDF, while continuing sales abroad, executives at each told Breaking Defense.
During a visit to a military base in central Israel, Breaking Defense received a rare look at the 120mm mortar up-close, alongside Lt. Col. Liron Cohen, an IDF officer who helped develop it through the Ministry of Defense’s Directorate of Defense Research and Development.
