Israeli companies offer solutions for protecting natural resources at sea

Israeli companies offer solutions for protecting natural resources at sea

Heron של IAI

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The protection of natural resources is a global need, yet the world market for it is growing slowly because of dwindling budgets and disagreements between different authorities. Countries want to defend their resources, mainly underwater oil and gas reserves, and prevent potentially disastrous terrorist attacks, which could have long term implications.

It was almost natural for the Israeli defense industries to enter this market. The large variety of systems they produce allows them to customize appropriate defenses for each customer.

Elbit Systems, for example, established a special research center for the development of defenses for gas and oil platforms, and for other infrastructure platforms vulnerable to terrorist attacks. Currently their researchers are working on the defenses of Israel’s offshore natural gas platforms.

IAI Heron
IAI Heron

The center is located in its own structure. Equipped with computer and simulation systems, allowing Elbit to demonstrate its capabilities and to customize defenses for each client.

Visitors to the center are reminded of a control room for space shuttle missions. Elbit presents all the offshore platform defenses it offers on wide screens, based on the various elements it produces: UAVs, unmanned ships, mobile and stationary surveillance systems, and more.

The importance of protecting infrastructure platforms, built along the shore or in the economic waters of a country like Israel, has rapidly increased over the last year. As these sensitive platforms become more and more vulnerable to terrorist attacks, countries and companies begin devoting more resources to their defenses. Their location, mostly isolated in the sea and far from any shore, complicates the problem, but Elbit has some interesting solutions.

Elbit presents different layers of security for offshore platforms, their purpose being the detection and subsequent elimination of threats at very long ranges. Combining unmanned vehicles and mission specific sensors, these sensitive platforms are very well defended.

The fact that Elbit develops and produces a large variety of technologies, such as UAVs, unmanned ships and day and night sensors, allows it to develop adequate solutions for this kind of problem.

The question in Israel these days is who exactly will defend the drilling rigs in the Mediterranean Sea and the natural gas production facilities. There have been overt threats by the Lebanese Hezbollah organization, and while the Israeli Navy is in charge now, it suffers from a severe lack of resources.

Clients arriving at the Elbit center are presented with all the security measures and options for integrating them into working systems. The presentations are done using the same advanced simulators that are used to plan the defense strategies for the platforms at sea.

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Most experts agree that the surveillance systems around sensitive platforms should be installed as quickly as possible, even before the platforms are fully operational, to avoid unnecessary periods of vulnerability.

The largest markets, though, are abroad. According to Elbit there are a several very promising areas, among them the South China Sea and states such as Brazil and Mexico, where underwater gas and oil deposits were recently discovered.

In West Africa there’s a large area where countries such as Equatorial Guinea and Angola want to protect natural resources discovered at sea. Pirates, a problem in those areas, may attack drilling rigs or production facilities and demand money, actions which may lead to heavy financial losses and environmental disasters.

The clients visiting the research center define the problem. Sometimes they want to protect their facility from accidental collisions with ships entering the area, but in other cases the danger is military threat by another country or terrorist activities.

Elbit Systems is a pioneer in this field and established a research center dedicated to its development, but other defense industries offer solutions of their own, based on systems developed for other purposes. Israel Aerospace Industries, for example, developed many systems which could prove very useful for sea platform defense. Elta, an IAI subsidiary, produces some of the world’s finest naval radars, used in aircraft, manned and unmanned ships, and UAVs. The company-produced Heron UAV includes this type of radar, and is used by the Israel Navy to secure Israel’s shores.

IAI’s Tamam division also develops systems for marine use, especially long range surveillance systems for ships and aircraft. The Israeli navy and foreign navies already use some of these systems. The company offers a series of systems that could be adapted for the perimeter defense of sea platforms of any size.

IAI recently developed small, hovering sensor platforms tethered to a single spot, capable of keeping watch for hours. This system will also be used to defend installations at sea. A few weeks ago the Israeli company Skysapience revealed a similar system, called the Hovermast, also easily adapted for the same purpose.

New systems by Rafael could also be used by Israel and other countries to protect natural resources at sea. The company’s Protector USV (unmanned surface vehicle) is already operational in the Israeli Navy and in other navies. Installing a Rafael remotely controlled weapons station in this type of USV makes for an excellent weapons system for naval use.

Rafael produces other systems that could be adapted for the same purpose, such as sensors, optic or other, that could detect threats.

Rafael is very active in the field and recently increased its activities in Brazil, establishing a local branch there in an effort to take part in protecting local natural resources discovered at sea.

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