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RAFAEL's Spike, Tycoon and SkyLite B Team Up

SPIKE, SKYLITE & TYCOON JOIN UP FOR INTEGRATED OPERATIONAL CAPABILITY

October 20, 2006 – Haifa -- RAFAEL Armament Development Authority Ltd. carried out a demonstration of the integrated operational capabilities of the SPIKE multi-purpose missile system, the Tycoon tactical C4I system and the SkyLite B mini-UAV for foreign customers and Israel Defense Force representatives last month in Israel.

The purpose of the demonstration was to exhibit the combined capabilities of information gathering and precision attack while shortening the sensor-to-shooter cycle at the battalion level.

The participants in the exercise included RAFAEL's SkyLite B, long endurance mini-UAV, the SPIKE-LR, multi-purpose missile and the Tycoon TCS, tactical C4I system. The SkyLite B, recently combat proven, is a man-portable, mini-UAV system that enables long periods of stealthy reconnaissance and surveillance during the day, at night and in winds of 30 knots. The SkyLite B comprises advanced gimbaled and stabilized electro-optic payloads, a built in electro-optical tracker and a camera guide mode which allows the system to autonomously and continuously track a moving target in real-time and provides extremely high resolution images with extremely accurate targeting information.

The well-known SPIKE-LR multi-purpose missile is a member of the SPIKE Family of electro-optic guided missiles. The SPIKE-LR and its brother, SPIKE-ER have both fire and forget and fire, observe and update modes of operation enabling safe and accurate attack in all types of battle scenarios.

The Tycoon, Tactical C4I System, is an interactive, field proven, easy-to-use tool that provides a common and simple language between different forces and aids in closing the sensor-to-shooter cycle between reconnaissance and assault forces, as well as increasing fire management efficiency. The Tycoon TCS is capable of mission and path planning, navigation, BMS, situational awareness display, target acquisition and allocation, embedded training and mission review.

During the demonstration, as SPIKE teams were spread around the area, the SkyLite B acquired the target, extracted the target coordinates and transferred them to the Tycoon TCS. The Tycoon accepted the coordinates and immediately sent them to the SPIKE operators' CLU whereupon the SPIKE operator locked on the target and simulated missile fire. The same operation was exhibited in reverse; where the SkyLite B received the target coordinates from the SPIKE operator via Tycoon TCS and performed successful Battle Damage Assessment (BDA) after the target was "destroyed".
This is the first time we've been able to show our customers RAFAEL's ability to close the sensor-to-shooter cycle within minutes at a battalion level, says Mr Dror Shachnie ,Missile Division VP for marketing at Rafael. "The combination of these systems working in tandem provides an essential force multiplier that's been missing until now."

About RAFAEL
RAFAEL designs, develops, manufactures and supplies a wide range of advanced defense systems. These leading edge products include space propulsion technologies, naval, air and ground precision weapons, electro-optic systems, electronic warfare (EW) systems, Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence (C4I) systems, acoustic defense systems, armored protection and training systems.

Contact -Mr. Amit Zimmer – Corporate Spokesman – Tel: +972-3-572-4710, amitz@rafael.co.il