In contrast to the significant intrusion of drones into air forces around the world, conservative navies are still having difficulty implementing the unmanned aerial vehicle revolution.
Already four years ago, Elbit unveiled the Seagull (“Seagull”), an unmanned naval vessel that can be used to detect and neutralize mines, submarine warfare, patrol and patrol. As in the air, even at sea unmanned tools are much cheaper to operate, can perform long-term use without the need to replace crews, and their operation does not endanger human life. The Israeli navy has leased the system for operational testing, but has not yet announced a purchase deal.
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This morning (Wednesday), Elbit first reported on a sale of the system to a foreign navy, of a country in the Asia-Pacific region. Elbit does not report the value of the deal, but experts estimate that it is a sum of several tens of millions of dollars. The contract will be executed over a period of 17 months.
The customer purchased the tools in a configuration designed to neutralize marine mines, with side-scanning sonar and forward-looking sonar, mine destruction capability, battle management system and satellite communications equipment. The Seagull is able to stay at sea for four consecutive days, and operate at sea in mode five, i.e. with a wind of 40 km / h and waves 2 meters high.
Seagal has so far participated in a number of maneuvers of warfare against submarines and naval mines with navies, including the British and Spanish navies, to demonstrate its capabilities. Elbit also demonstrated the ability to launch a drone from it, in order to expand its capabilities to perform ongoing security missions.