Israel Matzav

The Golani brigade's little bonus

You know what they say about big boys liking sophisticated toys. Well, the IDF's Golani brigade got a new toy this week: A hand held command and control system.

The advanced C2 system will be distributed to personnel at a company commanders’ level and higher, and will be attached to the vest of the commanders’ communications operator. Aside from that, each commander will carry a touch screen and a special eyepiece, by means of which he will be able to plan the operational mission and get an updated picture of the battlefield.

Next year, the system which was formerly called the Integrated Combat Team for Infantry Units, will be integrated to the remainder of infantry units. The next units in line to receive the system are the Paratroopers and Givati Brigades. Afterwards, the Nahal and Kfir Brigades will also start speaking digital. “For the first time, the world of infantry will have a control system that goes down to the field and enables the commander to control his forces and progress with them simultaneously”, explained a Ground Forces officer.

Later, soldiers from Special Forces will experiment an operation while using the compact system, weighing only five kilos – which makes it even lighter than a Sony Playstation.

The new device, developed by Elbit Systems, has similar abilities to those of APCs, tanks and artillery control systems. While managing a battle, the commander will receive an updated snapshot of the forces deployed throughout the area, whether they are IDF soldiers or enemy forces. They will be displayed on a virtual map of the field, and the commander will be able to zoom in and out. The system will also assist commanders during navigation, using a GPS: as soon as the officer selects its coordinates, the system will determine how to direct him to his target, even in urban warfare conditions without satellite reception.

The only problem with all this fancy gadgetry is that it creates an expectation that the IDF will be perfect and not inflict any civilian casualties. Of course, no one is perfect. But the IDF is about as close as it gets.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 6:34 AM