Israel unveiled its new AI-powered “Barak tank” for its military’s Armored Corps.

The tank, which is equipped with artificial intelligence, sensors, radar and small cameras, is believed to usher in a new era of military technology.

“The Defense Ministry said the tank’s systems will provide superiority to Israeli troops by revealing enemy locations and providing targets for combat troops on the battlefield based on 360-degree peripheral observation technology,” Defense News reports.

WATCH:

Defense News reports:

“The Barak tank was designed based on a concept of anti-fragility, with the aim of providing the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] soldiers a weapon system with built-in flexibility, which will allow them to win in all combat situations,” said Brig. Gen. Oren Giber, who leads the ministry’s Merkava and armored vehicles directorate.

The Barak, like the Merkava tanks of previous generations, was developed by the Defense Ministry’s directorate of armored combat vehicles, locally known as MANTAK, the ministry told Defense News.

The ministry would not specify the number of units on order, their deployment timeline nor their cost, but did say the price is similar to that of the Merkava 4M, despite the technological leap. A Merkava 4M for the Israel Defense Forces is about $3.5 million.

The Jerusalem Post added:

With new targeting abilities, the tank is designed to monitor its surroundings and process and present the information to the soldiers in a simple and easy-to-use way. As part of this, the tank is programmed to zero in on and target enemy forces before they are able to attack the tank.

The system also allows the drivers to focus on one environment at a time, allowing them to see their surroundings outside the tank with a push of a button, using the Elbit Systems IronVision helmet, which enables the tank’s crew to “see through the vehicle’s armor.”

This is meant to help solve complex navigation issues in different situations, especially in urban areas.

The Barak was designed with the soldiers in mind. As such, the operating system is able to adapt itself to their needs, allowing them to pick the optimal setting for their task.

While this is meant to lessen the workload for the soldiers, the teams will remain the same four people (commander, driver, gunner, and loader), but the tasks performed by the team members may change. Teams in Barak tanks will function differently than those of other tanks due to its unique abilities.

ILTV Israel News added this video report:

 

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