Tel Aviv: Israeli company Elbit Systems was awarded a $ 95 million contract to supply SkyStriker loitering munitions (LM) to a European country. The contract will be carried out over a period of two years. As part of the contract Elbit Systems will provide several hundred SkyStriker units.
Elbit Systems’ SkyStriker LM is a fully autonomous loitering munition that can locate, acquire and engage operator designated targets with a warhead of up to 10 Kg, enabling high-precision performance. SkyStriker can be launched from a variety of ground and aerial platforms, including from a dedicated canister on Elbit Systems’ PULS™ (Precise and Universal Launching System) rocket artillery systems.
Equipped with an electrical engine, the SkyStriker enables covert operations of up to 2 hours and with a range of 100km. The system can precisely strike targets while maintaining a “man in the loop” even in GPS and communication denied environments.
The Skystriker can use a number of warhead types and thanks to its modular design, it can be interchanged in the field during pre-flight according to the operational requirement.
Yoram Shmuely, General Manager of Elbit Systems Aerospace said that as a covert and agile platform, the SkyStriker loitering munition delivers high performance precision and reliability, providing a mission critical advantage to warfighters on the modern battlefield.
-The writer is an Israel-based freelance journalist. The views expressed are of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of Raksha Anirveda
