Elbit Systems demonstrates AI-enabled targeting system for European forces

Israel-based defence electronics company Elbit Systems has completed live demonstrations of its artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled fire support system HattoriX for several European militaries, potentially paving the way for integration of the system into those forces’ arsenals.

The capability demonstrations took place in Europe, where company officials demonstrated the system’s targeting capabilities in urban and austere environments “in both day and night, simulating a variety of operational scenarios”, according to a 19 January statement. Programme officials and military representatives from eight European nations ran the HattoriX system through the various combat scenarios, determining the platform’s ability to “passively and rapidly acquire” targets within a margin of error of a few metres, company officials said.

Elbit Systems’ HattoriX, an artificial intelligence-enabled target acquisition and fire support system, underwent field demonstrations for several European militaries. (Credit: Elbit Systems )

The system, which has been in use by Israeli Defence Forces since 2019, was able to successfully showcase “effective engagement of time-sensitive targets” during the demonstrations, which concluded in January. Company officials declined to identify which European nations participated in the HattoriX demonstrations.

Officially unveiled at the DSEI 2019 defence exhibition in London, the core of the HattoriX platform is an AI-enabled mission computer that “performs [the] automatic fusion of Geographical Information System (GIS) database, pre-loaded targets data, payload’s visual feed and [command and control] information” via proprietary software that runs photogrammetry algorithms alongside an Augmented Reality (AR) overlay of real-time C2 data, a company fact sheet states.