IAI ELTA to supply Finland with multi-mission radar systems
Originally developed for the Iron Dome, the compact multi-mission radars are expected to be delivered by 2021.
By ANNA AHRONHEIMUpdated: JANUARY 24, 2019 14:14Compact Multi Mission Radar.(photo credit: IAI)
ELTA Systems, parent company of Israel Aerospace Industries, has signed a deal to supply compact multi-mission radar systems to the Finnish army, the company has announced.The Finnish army selected ELTA over several competitors. The radar was tested in Finland in the spring of 2018 to the “customer’s full satisfaction,” the company said.The radar system is scheduled to be delivered in 2021.The radars will provide the Finnish army with the ability to locate and track incoming rockets, artillery shells and mortars, as well as an interface to alert the army’s counter-weapons systems.“The modern battlefield has drastically evolved over the last decades as aerial threats have become more versatile. The ability to take preventive measures has become a serious challenge. Radars can no longer just specialize on a single mission but rather need to have the ability to handle different missions in parallel,” the company said.The ELM-2311 is a highly mobile Compact Multi Mission Radar (C-MMR) C-band radar system capable of carrying out several missions simultaneously. The radar uses advanced 3D Active Electronically Steered Array (AESA) antenna technology and can be transported on a single vehicle for maneuvering forces.The artillery mode enables detection of incoming artillery and missiles, identifying hostile weapon locations and calculating Point of Impact (POI) and Point of Origin (POO) in real time while simultaneously providing friendly-fire ranging.It’s air defense and hostile weapon location mode can detect, classify and track airborne targets while generating a real-time air-situation picture, “thereby seriously inhibiting an opponent’s use of aerial threats,” the company said.“The MMR Family responds to a broad range of needs, by locating and tracking incoming Rockets and Artillery shells and by creating a comprehensive situational air picture .The demand for mobile MMR systems is on the rise, with ELTA’s operationally-proven radars well known and active across the globe,” said Yoav Tourgeman, IAI VP and CEO of ELTA.In April, ELTA marked the sale of the 100th MMR system worldwide, with sales exceeding $1.9 billion.
The system, initially developed for the IDF and improved for the Iron Dome missile defense system a decade ago, is now a main sensor for the Iron Dome, David’s Sling and the land-based Barak short-to-long range missile system.The radar has been operationally proven in more than 1,500 intercepts in battle since 2011 and continues to be improved with updated technologies.
