Yunus Dar

Around the world a rise in conflicts has increased the demand for smart ammunition. The demand has led many global defence companies to focus on producing guided munitions, which are mostly autonomous, GPS-enabled, and make use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to home in on a target. The key players in the global weapons market include Raytheon, Lockheed Martin Corporation, BAE Systems, MBDA, Kongsberg Group (Norway), Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd, L-3 Technologies, FN Herstal S.A, Northrop Grumman Corporation (US), among others.

Excalibur Artillery from Raytheon

In June this year, Rafael Advanced Defence Systems enabled its Spice 250 with AI alongside automatic target recognition to be used with scene-matching technology. The electro-optic scene-matching technology involves uploading terrain data onto the bomb and combining it with real-time electro-optic imagery. This allows the weapon to work in GPS-denied environments. The technology allows the bomb to navigate and correct its trajectory on its own. The weapon uses its AI and ‘deep learning’ technologies to identity moving ground targets and distinguish them from other objects and terrain, employing the 3D models uploaded to the bomb as well as algorithms. The smart weapon ‘learns’ to distinguish its target from a moving convoy and destroy it.

Rafael also developed the Firefly tactical weapon system, as an innovative, miniature electro-optical tactical loitering munition designed for light manoeuvring ground forces such as infantry, marines or Special Forces. “Firefly is designed for the dismounted soldier fighting within the urban arena where situation awareness is limited, enemy is behind the cover, and precision is critical,” the company says. Firefly is a new variant of Rafael’s Spike family precision guided missiles, and features a dual seeker, target tracker, homing algorithms, computer vision, safe and arm-fusing mechanism and Human Machine Interface (HMI). The weapon leaves little hope for the enemy hiding behind a cover.

Rafael has been working on a number of such technologies and has garnered considerable orders from nations across the world. The company’s Iron Dome air defence system remains the most dependable threat protection system. “With over 2,000 combat interceptions and almost 90 per cent success rate, Iron Dome features multi-mission capabilities, scalability and mobility, to provide both stationary and manoeuvring forces the ultimate defence solution against a wide spectrum of threats, from very short range mortars and rockets, to UAVs, aircraft (fixed-wing and rotary), up to threats launched from ranges