Elbit to export Iron Fist system to the Netherlands

JERUSALEM — BAE Systems Hägglunds has chosen Israeli firm Elbit Systems to provide the Royal Netherlands Army with the Iron Fist active protection system for CV90 armored vehicles under an $82 million contract announced this week.

The Dutch service is also receiving electro-optical commander sights as part of the contract, set to take place over a period of four and a half years, Elbit said in a news release.

Yuval Karakookly, the vice president of survivability for Elbit’s land systems division, said the deal could lead to further work with the CV90 and potential business in other European markets.

BAE is upgrading the Dutch CV90 fleet with new turrets in a $500 million deal announced in mid-January. Some CV90 vehicles were previously equipped with Spike anti-tank missiles made by Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. Elbit previously supplied digital soldier systems to the Netherlands and won a $24 million contract to supply tactical computers for vehicles, announced in January. Elbit Systems of America and BAE have also teamed up on combat vehicle technology before.

Iron Fist is a hard-kill, lightweight active protection system that uses sensors, radar and countermeasures to stop threats such as rocket-propelled grenades and anti-tank guided missiles. Elbit works with Rada, which makes the radar, for the APS.

Initially designed by Israel Military Industries — now known as IMI Systems — more than a decade ago, the Iron Fist Light Decoupled version was chosen by Israel’s Defense Ministry for its Eitan eight-wheel drive armored fighting vehicle and D9 bulldozer in 2019.

It was also selected for the Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle in the U.S. Despite hurdles , Elbit said it is currently ready for qualification trials.

After evaluation of the system in 2018 and 2019, and following engineering and enhancement work, the company now plans to begin serial production of the Light Decoupled variant in Israel and aims for export in the 2023-2024 time frame. The variant enables light vehicles to absorb residual penetration.

Elbit also has a heavier option called Iron Fist Light Kinetic, which can be used as a countermeasure against tank rounds. “We have a prototype that is running, and we had a good test and demonstration of that capability,” Karakookly said.

The company is also configuring Iron Fist to embed soft-kill options and incorporate layers of long-range interceptions for anti-tank guided missiles. Karakookly said that with drone threats accelerating, Elbit is working on a sensor suite to counter UAVs — a capability that is currently is the research and development phase.

Seth J. Frantzman is the Israel correspondent for Defense News. He has covered conflict in the Mideast since 2010 for different publications. He has experience covering the international coalition against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria, and he is a co-founder and executive director of the Middle East Center for Reporting and Analysis.

耶路撒冷——BAE Systems Hägglunds公司选择以色列Elbit Systems公司为荷兰皇家陆军提供CV90装甲车的“铁拳”主动防护系统，该合同价值8200万美元，于本周宣布。

埃尔比特公司在一份新闻稿中表示，作为合同的一部分，荷兰军队还将接收光电指挥瞄准器，交付期限为四年半。

Elbit陆地系统部门生存能力副总裁Yuval Karakookly表示，该交易可能会促成与CV90的进一步合作，并有可能在其他欧洲市场开展业务。

英国航空航天系统公司（BAE Systems）于1月中旬宣布，将斥资5亿美元为荷兰CV90车队升级新型炮塔。部分CV90车辆此前已装备以色列拉斐尔先进防御系统公司（Rafael Advanced Defense Systems）生产的“长钉”（Spike）反坦克导弹。埃尔比特系统公司（Elbit Systems of America）此前曾向荷兰提供数字化士兵系统，并于1月份赢得一份价值2400万美元的合同，为荷兰军队提供战术计算机。埃尔比特系统公司和英国航空航天系统公司此前也曾在作战车辆技术领域有过合作。

“铁拳”是一款轻型硬杀伤主动防护系统，它利用传感器、雷达和对抗措施来拦截火箭推进榴弹和反坦克导弹等威胁。埃尔比特系统公司与雷达制造商Rada公司合作开发了这款主动防护系统。

十多年前，以色列军事工业公司（现称为 IMI 系统公司）最初设计了 Iron Fist 轻型解耦版本，2019 年，以色列国防部选择将其用于 Eitan 八轮驱动装甲战车和 D9 推土机。

尽管面临一些困难，但埃尔比特公司表示，该发动机目前已准备好进行资格试验，并被美国选中用于布雷德利步兵战车。

经过2018年和2019年的系统评估，以及后续的工程改进工作，该公司计划在以色列开始批量生产轻型解耦版本，并力争在2023-2024年间出口。该版本能够帮助轻型车辆吸收残余穿透力。

埃尔比特公司还有一种名为“铁拳轻型动能导弹”的重型导弹，可用于对抗坦克炮弹。“我们已经有一个原型机正在运行，并且已经对其性能进行了良好的测试和演示，”卡拉库克利说道。

该公司还在对“铁拳”系统进行配置，使其能够嵌入软杀伤选项，并整合多层远程拦截反坦克导弹的能力。卡拉库克利表示，随着无人机威胁的加剧，埃尔比特系统公司正在研发一套用于对抗无人机的传感器套件——这项技术目前仍处于研发阶段。

塞思·J·弗兰茨曼是《防务新闻》的以色列记者。自2010年以来，他一直为多家媒体报道中东冲突。他曾报道过打击伊拉克和叙利亚境内伊斯兰国组织的国际联盟行动，并且是中东报道与分析中心的联合创始人兼执行主任。