JERUSALEM — Israel Aerospace Industries has unveiled a new naval defense concept, based around placing networked, containerized systems on existing vessels.
Called Diamond, IAI in a May 20 announcement described the technology as a new “distributed warfare solution that expands the power of modern frigates” that will give the ships “greater firepower, operational flexibility and rapid response.”
In an announcement video, IAI showed off a series of what look like commercial shipping containers, which featured a variety of different systems, including missile interceptors, loitering munitions, or sensors on a small mast. Those containers are placed on the deck space of frigates, effectively adding new capabilities without the high price of fully integrating new systems onto a ship.
The other half of the Diamond design involves networking. Because modern ships have little excess capacity on deck, the company proposes a setup where different systems would be placed on small satellite ships, which can all then be connected to a command-and-control mother ship — giving the entire group defensive capabilities in a disaggregated model.
The modular concept and using simple cheaper vessels as wing ships means that forces can be configured quickly for mission requirements. This enables “operational flexibility, rapid deployment and real-time response to evolving maritime threats,” IAI says. “The modular systems all come in a standard container footprint and can be deployed, replaced or reconfigured within hours based on operational needs.”
“The solution enables rapid deployment, shortens operational timelines, reduces costs and supports continuous modernization in response to emerging threats and evolving mission,” per the company.
The IAI video shows one example where pallets of missile interceptors can be placed on the smaller vessels. In another part of the video, the Diamond concept places loitering munitions, similar to the IAI-made Harop, launching and striking SAM mobile launchers that are on a hill overlooking a waterway. (Of note, the waterway has a resemblance to the challenges faced by navies in the Strait of Hormuz, and the SAM systems appear similar to those used by Iran.)
IAI says that Diamond operates in a plug-and-play architecture so that various IAI systems can be integrated. These include “loitering munitions such as Harop, Harpy and Mini-Harpy, Blue Spear cruise missiles, LORA ballistic missiles, the BARAK MX family of advanced air defense interceptors, Counter-UAS capabilities and more,” IAI noted.
Guy Barlev, IAI’s Executive Vice President and General Manager of its Space Missiles and Space Group noted that modern naval warfare is shifting to “adaptive, networked force structures.” What that means is that it is less focused on large platforms, a trend in naval warfare since the Second World War. Diamond is supposed to enable navies to “expand combat capacity, survivability and mission endurance without relying on costly fleet expansion programs,” Barlev says.
