Thales and Elbit Systems have announced that the Thales MAGIC ATOLS (automatic take-off and landing) system has been successfully trialled with the Watchkeeper 450: an unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV). Three take-offs and three landings were perfectly executed in front of the MOD and a number of journalists in Israel.
Thales's MAGIC ATOLS is a small, automatic system which performs automatic take off and landing without an external pilot dedicated to this phase. This demonstration has provided Thales with extremely promising results for the future. The growth capabilities of the current ATOLS system have been fully developed by Thales, and the next step is the qualification and acceptance of the system before the end of the year.
About Elbit Systems
Elbit Systems Ltd. is an international defence electronics company engaged in developing, manufacturing and integrating a wide range of defence-related programs throughout the world. The Company, which includes Elbit Systems and its subsidiaries, operates in the areas of aerospace, land and naval systems, command, control, communications, computers, intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance ("C4ISR"), unmanned air vehicle (UAV) systems, advanced electro-optics, electro-optic space systems, EW suites, airborne warning systems, ELINT systems, data links and military communications systems and radios. The Company also focuses on the upgrading of existing military platforms and developing new technologies for defence, homeland security and commercial aviation applications.