Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) will unveil POINT@AIR this week in Washington at AUSA, the yearly exhibition of the Association of the United States Army. The Jerusalem Post reported that the radar can detect low-flying drones from its position suspended high above the ground on an aerostat.
Guy Bar Lev, IAI's president and CEO, described surveillance as the foundation of any defense.
"Seeing the battlespace is the starting point for every effective defense. The more persistent and comprehensive that view becomes, the better equipped forces are to understand what is unfolding, anticipate threats and act with confidence," Bar Lev said.
Dror Bar, CEO of ELTA Systems and an executive vice president at IAI, said the development team set out to rethink aerostat radar rather than simply shrink it. "Our goal was not simply to reduce the size of an existing solution, but to rethink what an aerostat-based radar could achieve," Bar said.
"By combining advanced AESA technology, long-range detection and 360-degree coverage in a compact configuration, POINT@AIR gives operators the ability to establish persistent awareness where fixed infrastructure may not be practical," he added.
