Teching-Up the Infantry

The challenges faced by infantry soldiers are becoming increasingly complex in the populated urban battlefield. As enemies adapt and become more elusive, the demand for innovative solutions that enhance foot soldiers’ capabilities and survivability is greater than ever.

Elbit Systems, a leader in defense technology, has been at the forefront of developing sophisticated systems to address the challenges of the dismounted soldier, ensuring they are equipped with state-of-the-art accessories for the modern battlefield.

The Lone Soldier’s Burden

Infantry soldiers, often operating detached from a platform or vehicle, bear the weight of carrying their weapons, medical supplies, communication devices, and all other essential equipment on their backs.

Eran, a project manager at Elbit Systems’ C4I & Cyber Division, has a rich military background as a dismounted soldier and commander in the Israeli Defense Forces. According to him, “Being a foot soldier often means you’re pretty much alone. your physical fitness is your driving force.”

He emphasizes that his job is to find ways to extend soldiers’ survivability and endurance while providing them with the most precise technologies that aid in completing their missions.

But what are the scenarios ground troops face, and what equipment would be the best fit?

Eran tries to shed light. “The world has seen a shift from direct combat or large platforms with strong firepower to small robotic platforms and drones. Enemies have also changed, especially in urban environments. They have adopted battle techniques that involve concealing in wreckage or tunnels to avoid direct combat.”

This necessitates a new approach where infantry soldiers play a crucial role in flushing out and engaging these elusive enemies. “This means foot soldiers now carry the burden of going house to house, tunnel shaft after tunnel shaft, to seek and destroy their enemies,” Eran said.

In this reality, most infantry scenarios often include direct and personal encounters with the enemy. “Because the enemy is hidden, you need your soldiers to attack with significant firepower,” he explains. “These evolving combat methods highlight the need for a robust ground presence to expose undisclosed threats.”

Boosting Soldier Capabilities

Elbit Systems aims to enhance and connect infantry squads to fire and reconnaissance systems, making close-range attacks and the immediate enemy detection much safer. To achieve this, a reliable tactical network that connects all users in real-time is paramount. “Our first solution includes the E-LynX™ tactical communication system, which transmits necessary data in challenging areas filled with spectrum disruptions, cyber-attacks, and more.”

The E-LynX™ is designed to ensure seamless communication and real-time intelligence sharing. By connecting these networks to systems like the Torch™, commanders can pinpoint their forces’ locations and act swiftly based on these reports.

Eran outlines various scenarios where technology plays a pivotal role: “If a unit encounters and identifies an enemy, they can call in the most relevant attacking asset to quickly neutralize the threat and minimize casualties. Conversely, reconnaissance assets can warn the unit of suspicious movements, ensuring our forces are always prepared.”

Situational awareness

In the modern battlespace, the combat effectiveness and survivability of dismounted forces hinge on real-time situational awareness and seamless networked communications. The integration of IoT equipment on soldiers, such as weapons and sensors, and the connection of these soldiers to a broader network endows them with multidomain networked sensors and effectors capabilities.

Torch-X™ Dismounted significantly enhances battlefield performance. This advanced networked solution boosts the combat effectiveness and survivability of dismounted close combatants by incorporating integrated hardware components, C4I applications, and an advanced Load Carriage System. By connecting soldiers’ sensors and effectors to the network, Torch-X™ Dismounted improves soldier lethality and survivability, enabling the use of all network-connected sensors and effectors and dramatically shortening the sensor-to-shooter loop.

Next-Gen Infantry Gear

Looking ahead, Elbit Systems is advancing technologies like SmarTrack, which enables location sharing of all soldiers within a unit, even in GPS-denied environments and complex urban areas. Eran reveals, “This small device ensures we know the location of our forces down to the last soldier and is expected to be operational by year’s end.” The initial phase focuses on defense, alerting if a soldier goes missing or is captured, while the next phase involves offensive capabilities using these tools.

Another innovation is augmented reality (AR) capabilities, which project a two-dimensional command-and-control picture into the commander’s view through AR glasses. “SmartEye is a smart visor currently in development,” Eran shares.

Another implement of the Augmented reality (AR) capabilities is the ARCAS. The ARCAS is a smartsight that bring to the marksman the same situational awareness picture that the commander has in the command-and-control system.  These capabilities short the circle of fire between the commander and the shooter. The ARCAS makes the platoon more lethal and also improve the survivability of the platoon.

Additionally, Elbit has developed advanced ballistic personal protection that can stop armor-piercing rounds from rifles while being lighter and thinner. This patented ceramic plate, known as FORTWEAR, reduces the weight carried by soldiers, minimizes the risk of severe wounds from friendly fire, enhances operational effectiveness, and increases overall lethality and survivability of the forces,” he concludes.

By addressing the unique challenges faced by Infantry soldiers and providing innovative solutions, Elbit Systems ensures that soldiers are well-equipped to navigate the complexities of the modern battlefield with greater precision, safety, and effectiveness.

System of Systems

Elbit Systems aims to enhance the platoon lethality and survivability by take every system and integrate it to one operational system that take in account every aspect of the modern battlefield. One of the main advantages of using this approach is exploit all the resources and improving the energy solution. By that we save weight and improve the operational time that the platoon can use the technology without external source of energy.

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