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MBT RAYTHEON are Teamed to Market CUTLASS

Jun 14, 1999

Israel Aircraft Industries Ltd. (IAI) MBT Division and Raytheon Missile Systems signed an agreement to jointly market the CUTLASS - Combat UAV Target Locate and Strike System. The team is actively pursuing the US military market.

MBT has developed and produced the Harpy system, an attack UAV system which is used to attack hostile radar emitters. Harpy a mature system, is currently operational with several Air Forces, and is the only existing operation attack UAV system.

The CUTLASS weapon platform is provided by MBT, based on the proven Harpy's UAV type airframe. Raytheon provides the guidance system, based on existing AIM9X/ASRAAM imaging IR seeker technology, an in-house developed automatic target recognition and classification (ATR/C) system, and a commercial data link.

CUTLASS provides comprehensive stand-off targeting and kill capabilities and is well suited for a variety of applications, including hunting of ballistic missiles launcher, urban warfare, and Suppression of Enemy Aerial Defenses (SEAD).

CUTLASS uses a GPS navigation system to autonomously fly a pre-programmed navigation to a search area. Programming is done by the operator before launch with a PC type computer in a ground control station, using geographic map displays and a mouse keyboard.

Once in the search area, CUTLASS enters a pre-defined search pattern, and uses the seeker and the ATR/C algorithms to locate and classify targets. When a potential target is located, the information is data-linked to an operator in the ground station to confirm target identification and to provide positive man-in-the-loop attack permission.

CUTLASS attacks the target autonomously upon command from the ground station operator, performing a near vertical dive to the target, and detonating its warhead upon impact.

For more information, contact:
Doron Suslik
Deputy Corp VP for Communications
Tel: 972 (3) 93 5-8509
Fax: 972 (3) 935-8512
Email: hpaz@hdq.iai.co.il