Eli Dotan – Senior Director, UAS Programs at Elbit Systems – On The Industry’s Challenges
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In his talk at the AUS&R conference on September 7th, Eli Dotan talked about the goals, challenges and questions the UAV industry in general and Elbit Systems in particular is facing.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles are a single system comprised of many different systems. The UAVs manufactured by Elbit range from very small ones to large ones – each size of UAV has its own advantages and designated capabilities. A small drone can, for example, offer a more quick and effective solution to the soldier in the field than a large drone, which can, in turn, complete missions that a smaller platform is unsuitable for.
Elbit’s unmanned systems’ capabilities provide effective solutions for the field commander, reliability and safety to operate, autunomy and simple operation (if not completely autonomous) and long endurance. These capabilities make possible a variety of missions. Elbit has broadened throughout the year its UAVs’ capabilities which now offer solutions to an even wider range of missions than ever before. It upgraded the sensors being used in the systems, that can now provide data from a narrow zone while still maintaining information on the big picture.
The challenges Elbit has successfuly faced are first and foremost multi-tasking as well as supplying the product to the client as soon as possible once a contract is signed. The challenge it is now facing is a marketing one, and it is no simple challenge. While at first the main client to these system was the IDF, now – in order to sell Elbit’s products to many different clients, some non-military – an adjustment is required in order to fit the products to the client and market it properly.
Dotan has sealed his talk in a question that remains unanswered, signifying a tough dilemma for Elbit: Should new platforms be developed or should existing UAVs be upgraded? The answer, as stated, is yet to be found.
