Estonia decided to demonstrate to the world that it is an “important partner” in NATO. The other day Estonian Defense Minister Hannes Hanso announced that the country has a "defense industry". The statement that Estonian manufacturers are creating "military equipment" was made during the international exhibition UMEX-2016 in Abu Dhabi, held from 6 to 8 March.
In the United Arab Emirates, Estonia presented several developments, which, according to Hannes Hanso, should have attracted the attention of both potential buyers and partners in the North Atlantic Alliance. These are robotic tracked "sleds" created by Milrem, alarm systems for unauthorized crossing of the border, as well as an unmanned aerial vehicle.
During the exhibition, the Estonian Minister of Defense made a statement in which he called Estonia “a well-known and recognized country in the world for giving birth to innovative technologies”. According to Hannes Hanso, there are several companies operating in the country that "are a model for the development of the defense industry." Abu Dhabi must have been surprised that Estonia is somehow connected with the presence of a defense industry, and even more so with the words that some Estonian companies are "a model of development."
To make an impact on visitors to the UAE exhibition, the Baltic delegation presented the aforementioned "robotic sleighs" (THeMIS), capable, according to a press release, "adapting to any military or rescue mission." Anyone?..
Some specifications "Robotic sleigh" THeMIS:
maximum speed - 50 km / h, weight - about 700 kg, declared autonomy of work - up to 8 hours.
From a company post:
The platform allows the installation of various combat modules, as well as communication modules. THeMIS can be used to evacuate victims, to clear the area, supply units with weapons and ammunition, and a base for extinguishing fires.
The main weapon in question is a machine gun, remotely controlled by an operator with an aiming system through a monitor, to which a signal from a camera is transmitted.
How immune such a system is, and whether it will turn out that the "robotic sleigh" in the course of a real battle will turn into a robotic "blind man" - a separate question for the developers.
The developer, meanwhile, states that the THeMIS platform is still undergoing testing, and in 2017 it may enter service with the Estonian army and rescue services.
Another example of the Estonian stand in Abu Dhabi is the ELIX-XL multi-rotor drone. The developer focuses on the fact that this drone is capable of shooting (day and night) and at temperatures below zero. A small UAV is capable of monitoring the terrain at wind speeds up to 8 m / s. The weight of the drone is about 5.5 kg. ELIX-XL is equipped with 10x video cameras. The drone is capable of monitoring moving objects at a constant speed. The flight speed is 12 m / s, the autonomous flight time is up to 40 minutes, the range from the information acquisition and flight control system is no more than 7 km.
From the Eli Military Simulations presentation video:
Estonian company Defendec presented a border control system developed several years ago in Abu Dhabi. This system allows the border center (outpost option) to carry out visual day and night monitoring of the state of affairs on a particular section of the border. According to representatives of the company, the system will distinguish between cases of border crossings - for example, by people and animals. In particular, if an elk or a deer crosses the border, the operator will reportedly be able to track its "parameters" and not raise the Estonian border guards "into the gun." If you believe the schedule of the Defendec presentation video, filmed back in 2013, then the system "shines through" almost the internal "composition" of the offender. This, as it were, suggests that an “aggressor” intending to invade independent Estonia “incognito” (for example, in a deerskin…) will be immediately detected, of course, neutralized by the Estonian border guards.
In total, 119 companies took part in the UMEX exhibition, which focuses on unmanned systems, presenting more than 5 thousand different examples of military, civil and dual-use. The largest number of developments is presented by companies in Europe and North America. It is surprising that the newest creations of the Estonian defense industry thought did not take part in the recent Tallinn parade in honor of the next anniversary of the founding of the Estonian state.
