Israel’s RAFAEL Armament Development Authority recently unveiled SpotLite-M a new and mobile member of its SpotLite family of electro-optic (EO) enemy fire detection systems.

“The SpotLite-M provides the best solution for one of the most serious problems for mobile platforms on any battlefield and that, is finding the enemy and being able to react in real-time,” David Stemer, corporate vice president and general manager of RAFAEL’s Missile Division, said in a statement. “We are confident that it will attract the attention of our customers worldwide.”

SpotLite-M is the mobile version of a system known as SpotLite-P or SpotLite Mk 2 that is capable of accurately and immediately detecting, locating and thereby enabling reaction to enemy fire sources, such as small arms fire, rocket propelled grenades (RPGs) and anti-tank missiles, RAFAEL said.

“The inability to accurately locate enemy fire causes many casualties, ineffective and excessive firing and most importantly, keeps the initiative on the battlefield in the hands of the enemy,” the company added.

SpotLite-M was designed to solve this problem by precisely detecting and locating the shooting enemy in real-time while on the move.

According to RAFAEL, a vehicle under fire can react within seconds to the threat by using a remote controlled weapon station, changing positions, releasing a smoke screen or other countermeasures. Simultaneously, coordinates of the firing source can be sent to any shooter capable of receiving those coordinates, including tanks, attack helicopters, anti-tank missile systems, or snipers.

The heart of the system is comprised of advanced image processing capabilities with a sophisticated camera developed by RAFAEL that enables target detection and location at more than the effective range of the various threats.

SpotLite-M allows quick and accurate threat detection during the day and at night with up to 360 degrees coverage, the company said. In addition to land platforms, the SpotLite-M is also suitable for aerial and naval platforms.

Several unspecified customers have funded the project and the next major milestone to be completed by the end of 2007 is the installation of a prototype onto a vehicle, the company added.