Elbit Systems Manages Technology Integration of Ambitious Infantry Project

The Edge of Tomorrow’ is a project focused on developing cutting-edge technologies to improve a range of mission capabilities – including lethality, situational awareness, survivability, stamina, cognitive load, enemy exposure, performance analysis and simulation, C2 – among combat soldiers in the Israeli Defence Force’s (IDF) Infantry Corps. It aims to strengthen the synergy between individual soldiers and their teams, through the adoption of the Soldier as System (SAS) and Platoon as System (PAS) approaches.

The project incorporates networked warfare technologies, including communications at soldier and team levels, as well as TORCH-X-based applications for team and platoon levels. The various technologies include augmented reality goggles, a computerised assault rifle system, a digital head-mounted display system, hostile fire detection technology, a location-tracking system viable in GPS-denied environments, tactile sleeves for navigation and command transmission, and a voice command system, similar to those used on smartphones.

The R&D department of the Israeli MoD’s Directorate of Defense R&D (DDR&D), in conjunction with project integrator Elbit Systems and several additional organisations, recently demonstrated the project’s capabilities at an IDF training centre, which included a simulated response to an operational scenario. IDF soldiers from elite units used the wearable technologies, demonstrating initial abilities in the fields of lethality, survivability, and increased synergy.

“‘Edge of Tomorrow’ is an innovative project that is extremely unique thanks to our change in perspective. The project aims to enable optimal operational value for the infantry combat soldiers by strengthening the synergy between them and their team. The project incorporates a wide array of advanced technologies used by the soldiers and their teams, leading to a whole much greater than the sum of its parts,” explained Lt Col Shlomi Buskila, Head of the LWSOF Branch at DDR&D:

“The purpose of this project is to equip combat soldiers, teams, and platoons with innovative capabilities that will significantly improve their survivability and transform their mission effectiveness. The technological solution that we have put in place is based on open architecture which enables the maximization of proven technology by Elbit Systems as well as by additional companies. The project will also incorporate technologies that were developed and adapted to address the needs of the future battlefield with special emphasis on urban warfare,” added Haim Delmar, General Manager of Elbit Systems C4I & Cyber.