Tel Aviv: Advanced artillery systems are gaining big popularity in Europe and other continents.
Peru has selected the PULS system made by Israeli company Elbit Systems. The US $60 million deal is expected to be signed soon. Elbit’s PULS system was chosen over China’s Norinco SR-5 and Turkey’s Roketsan MBRL.
This marks the first deployment of the PULS system in South America and includes significant technology transfer and local production through the state-owned defence company FAME SAC.
The PULS, formerly known as Lynx, is currently operated by the Israeli defence forces (IDF), Azerbaijan, Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Kazakhstan and Rwanda.
The contract with Peru includes the delivery of 3 PULS launcher vehicles, 2 ammunition loading vehicles, 1 intelligence/reconnaissance vehicle, 4 observation vehicles, various command posts, a maintenance workshop, and a meteorological station.
Peru will receive 90 rockets with 50 km range, 12 guided missiles with ranges up to 140 km, and 3 guided missiles with up to 290 km range.
The agreement involves a comprehensive six-year technology transfer programme, enabling domestic assembly and future co-development, positioning FAME SAC as a potential regional hub for precision artillery systems.
The upgraded version of the Elbit Systems’ PULS rocket launcher in the service of the armed corps of the Israeli defence forces (IDF) has been used for the first time during the war to hit targets in Gaza. The Rocket used was an upgraded Elbit Accular 122 mm.
The artillery corps of the Israeli defence forces (IDF) received the first PULS systems in 2020. The IDF system is dubbed “Lahav”. Israeli sources said that an Elbit Systems’ upgraded Accular 122 mm rocket launched by the IDF systems achieved very accurate hits.
The PULS is made by the land systems department of Elbit Systems. The IDF’s version is carried by a an eight wheeled Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (HEMTT). The PULS is capable of launching different types of rockets, to ranges of up to 300 km.
According to the official Elbit brochure, the multi-purpose launcher features two PODS; each POD is designed for a specific rocket type: the Accular 122mm (18 rockets) with a range of up to 35km, the Accular 160mm (10 rockets) with a range of up to 40km, the EXTRA (4 rockets) with a range of up to 150km and the Predator Hawk (2 rockets) with a range of up to 300km.
Defence sources said that the successful use of the system in the ongoing war will accelerate the formation of a dedicated surfed-surface rockets unit in the IDF. This plan has been on the table for some years and now it seems that the plan will be implemented.
-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
