Tuesday, May 04, 2021
Elder of Ziyon
The Israeli Army has ordered a new guided 120mm mortar shell, Iron Sting, that can use GPS or laser guidance to hit targets with greater precision than any existing guided shell. Iron Sting is also equipped to work with a new digital fire control system that is also entering wide use in the Israeli military. That means 120mm mortars, which are vehicle mounted, can receive target location data from any Israeli ground, air or naval source and quickly program and fire Iron Sting shell at anything within twelve kilometers. While GPS guidance is reliable enough to put the shell within a few meters (ten feet) of the target, laser guidance can reliably hit individual vehicles, bunkers or snipers in buildings. The laser guidance requires someone within a few thousand meters of the target to aim the laser at the target and keep it there for the laser guided shell to hit the reflected laser light. Another advantage of laser guidance is that is harder to jam than GPS. Some GPS jammers can disrupt GPS guidance within several thousand meters. Laser signal disrupters are more expensive and only provide protection for individual vehicles and similar size targets. Israel has been using GPS guided 120mm shells since 2015 and they cost about $33,000 each. Iron Sting is more expensive but considered more effective due to the laser guidance and integration with the new fire control system....Unguided mortar shells cannot put the first round very close to the target, which means firing several rounds to adjust aim before one gets one on target. A guided mortar round is very useful in urban warfare, where a miss will often kill civilians. The 120mm mortar round has about 8 kg (17 pounds) of explosives, compared to 10 kg (22) pounds in a 155mm shell. The smaller explosive charges reduce collateral damage to civilians. Normally, an unguided 120mm shell will land anywhere within a 136-meter circle (on the first shot). All GPS guided rounds land within a ten-meter circle and laser guided shells land within a one-meter circle.
I'm not sure as to the price of each shell, but if they are more than $33,000 this seems a reasonable guess is $50,000.
That is how much Israel spends per shell to avoid civilian casualities.
Hamas's mortars, which are meant to kill civilians, are about $100 each.
Israel haters love to say that Israel fires indiscriminately at civilians and shows no interest in reducing casualties. There are thousands of counter-proofs, and this is just one of them.
But they will keep lying.
(h/t MtTB)
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