Thanks to Israeli weapons: The country that has become a leader in South America
Argentina is integrating Israeli loitering munitions, advancing it to a leading technological status in South America. Singapore has integrated Israeli-made Blue Spear missiles into a new, advanced warship. Taiwan is developing AI-based unmanned vessels using technology from an American company. This week in the defense industries.
Israeli technologies are in demand globally due to their technological leadership, and Argentina, which is equipping itself with them, is turning its army into one of the strongest and most advanced in South America. Meanwhile, in the Far East, Israeli missiles are being integrated into ships leaving local shipyards. All this and more in this week's defense industries column by Globes.
Thanks to Israel: Argentina has become a regional leader in loitering munitions
Argentina is currently integrating loitering munitions (suicide drones) of the Hero-30 and Hero-120 models produced by Israel's UVision, making it one of the first in Latin America to operate these sought-after assets. Israeli loitering munitions have opened a window for the Argentines to technology and capabilities they did not possess before: short- and medium-range strikes, tank attacks, and intelligence and reconnaissance capabilities.
Hero is a series of loitering munitions that includes three models, 30, 120, and 400, in different sizes. Hero has a system that allows the operator to see remotely what the loitering munition sees through electro-optical and infrared cameras. It can perform minor course corrections for the aircraft or abort its mission in cases such as the appearance of bystanders.
Furthermore, the loitering munitions can be launched at targets to complete the mission from start to finish on their own, or control can be handed over to personnel on the ground to increase coordination and efficiency of the forces.
The ZM website reports that repeated delays in Buenos Aires' evaluation processes have resulted in the country potentially losing the opportunity for continued technological advantage. The evaluation processes began as early as 2023 and continued with integration into artillery exercises, but the lengthy processes may allow other countries in the region to make a faster leap forward.
Israeli systems integrated into a Singaporean warship
Singapore has launched the local navy's new warship, RSS Valor, an impressive vessel weighing about 8,000 tons. For comparison, until now, Singapore used ships weighing about 595 tons. A "deep dive" into the systems integrated into the ship points to a clear Israeli connection. The shore-to-sea missile used by the Singaporeans is the Blue Spear, developed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) in collaboration with the local company ST Engineering.
Blue Spear is based on Gabriel missiles and is capable of attacking in all weather conditions and at all hours of the day. A significant aspect of these missiles is the long-range strike capability. Various countries, including in Europe, use this system with missiles that fly at high speeds and possess a radar homing head and significant navigation capabilities. These missiles will replace the outdated Harpoon missiles in Singapore.
The new ship is intended to serve as a command ship and a mother ship for unmanned systems, whether aerial, maritime, or underwater. The shipyard, belonging to the ST company, managed to produce it at an unusually fast pace of 455 days from the first steel cut to the launch. The vessel is designed to stay at sea for more than 21 days, with a crew of less than 100 people. Alongside the Israeli system, the Singaporeans also integrated a French-made radar and a main gun of Italian manufacture.
Taiwan presents: Attacks by unmanned boats managed by AI
Taiwanese company Thunder Tiger has unveiled a fleet of unmanned surface vessels (USVs) managed by artificial intelligence. The new product is called Sea Shark and is based on an AI core called Hivemind, developed by the American company Shield AI. Hivemind provides autonomy for vessels and allows the unmanned assets to operate even without GPS or communication. Thunder Tiger presented two models: the Sea Shark 600 and the larger Sea Shark 800.
Companies from Taiwan and the USA signed a memorandum of understanding about three months ago to integrate artificial intelligence into those maritime vessels, as reported in the Liberty Times newspaper. Thunder Tiger Chairman Chen Kuan-chou explained that this is only the first stage of a process expected to include the integration of American AI capabilities into other sensors as well, and the adaptation of new tools.
"Thunder Tiger focuses on platforms, and Shield AI sees great potential in the field of unmanned high-speed boats, especially in Taiwan's waters," said Chen. It is not inconceivable that the American company recognizes how the Asia-Pacific region in general and the Taiwan arena in particular is heating up due to the Chinese threat. Moreover, a conflict between China and Taiwan could also lead to proving capabilities in the field.
