Soltam ( Soltam Systems Ltd. ) - An Israeli company, a manufacturer of artillery weapons, mortars and artillery ammunition.
| Soltam Systems Ltd. סולתם מערכות | |
|---|---|
| Type of | |
| Base | 1950 |
| Founders | |
| Location | Israel |
| Industry | |
| Parent company | |
| Site | |
It was created in 1950 in the form of a joint venture of the Israeli corporation Solel Boneh Ltd. and Salgad, a division of the Finnish arms company Tampella [1] for the production of mortars.
Subsequently, the Finns went out of business, but the name remained. In the period 1980 [2] -1985 [3] , the company had 1,500 full-time employees.
Saltam Corporation is a major manufacturer and developer of artillery and mortar systems and ammunition for the Israeli army , it also modernizes artillery systems, participates in R&D and rearmament programs around the world.
Until 2001, the company also produced kitchen utensils (in particular, dishes) [4] , however, Turkish and Chinese exporters could not compete in this segment on the Israeli market and production was closed.
As of December 2008, the staffing of the company was 400 people [5] , however, after the reduction, by March 2009 their number decreased to 350 people [6] .
In 2010, it was purchased by Elbit Systems [7] .
Location
An artillery and ammunition plant is located in Yokneam, 20 km southeast of Haifa [8] .
Products, products and developments
Mortars
The company produces 60-, 81-, 120- and 160-mm mortars of various models and modifications:
- 52-mm mortar: weight in the fighting position of 7.9 kg; mine weight - 1.09 kg; the initial speed of the mine - 78 m / s; maximum firing range - 480 m [9] .
- 60-mm mortar "type B": weight in the combat position of 17.5 kg; mine weight - 1.54 kg; maximum firing range - 2.5 km [9] .
- 81-mm mortar M64: weight in the fighting position 37 kg; mine weight - 4.0 kg; the initial speed of the mine - 260 m / s; maximum firing range - 4.6 km [9] .
- 120-mm mortar Soltam M-65 : weight in the firing position 365 kg; mine weight - 12.9 kg; mines initial speed - 310 m / s; maximum firing range - 6.2 km [9] .
- 120 mm mortar Soltam K6
- 160 mm mortar Soltam M-66
Artillery systems
- 155 mm towed howitzer Soltam M-68
- 155 mm towed howitzer Soltam M-71
- 155 mm towed howitzer Model 845R
- 155mm Rascal self-propelled artillery mount on tracked chassis
- ATMOS 2000 155 mm self-propelled howitzer on Tatra truck chassis
- 155 mm towed howitzer ATHOS 2025 [10]
Self-propelled guns and mortars
- 81-mm self-propelled mortar on the chassis of the M3 armored personnel carrier [9]
- 120 mm Keshet self-propelled mortar on the chassis of the M113 armored personnel carrier [9]
- Advanced Deployable Autonomous Mortar System (ADAMS) 120 mm mortar system: The CARDOM 120 mm recoilless mortar equipped with Elbit Systems Ltd. fire control system on the chassis of an HMMWV car truck " Unimog " or armored personnel carrier M1129 "striker" [11] .
- 155-mm self-propelled howitzer L33 "Ro'em" on the chassis of the tank "Sherman" [2] , produced about 200 units [12] .
- 155-mm self-propelled howitzer L39 on the chassis of the Sherman tank (not mass-produced)
- 155 mm M72 self-propelled howitzer on the chassis of the Centurion tank [2]
- Makmat 160-mm self-propelled mortar on the Sherman tank chassis
- 155-mm self-propelled howitzer " Sholef " on the chassis of the tank " Merkava " (not serially produced).
R&D
- in the early 1980s for 60-mm, 81-mm and 120-mm mortars, high-explosive fragmentation mines “Kofram” were developed with improved fragmentation effect due to the use of metal-plastic cases with pre-fabricated striking elements in the form of steel balls pressed into them [9 ] .
- In 2006-2009, the following projects were developed for the armed forces of Kazakhstan [13] :
- The Aibat 120 mm self-propelled mortar , which is a modernized 120 mm 2B11 mortar (with an Israeli recoil system and the CARDOM complex) on the BTR-70 and MT-LB chassis .
- The 122-mm self-propelled howitzer Semser (“sword”) , which was a modernized 122-mm D-30 gun on the chassis of a KAMAZ-63502 truck .
- MLRS system " Nyza " ("spear"), which was an upgrade of the 122-mm multiple launch rocket system BM-21 Grad on the KAMAZ-63502 chassis with an automatic control and command system C2 .
Contracts with the Ministry of Defense of Kazakhstan with a total amount of about 190 million dollars were concluded in 2007, subsequently the army of Kazakhstan received three batteries of Aibat self-propelled mortars, one Semser self-propelled howitzers division and one Nyza MLRS division [14] . Subsequently, during the trial operation of equipment samples, certain design flaws were identified [15] and cooperation was terminated [16] .
Notes
- ↑ currently - “ Patria Vammas ”
- ↑ 1 2 3 G. Nikanorov. The militarization of the Israeli economy. // "Foreign Military Review", No. 4, 1980. p. 18-22
- ↑ E.V. Batumin. The war machine of Israel. M., "Knowledge", 1985. p. 7
- ↑ "Soltam" - a return to the old
- ↑ The crisis reached the Israeli defense industry: Saltam fired 15% of employees // News.RU from 12/30/2008
- ↑ “Soltam” is preparing for new layoffs due to problems with the deal with Kazakhstan // News.RU of 03.30.2009
- ↑ Elbit Systems Completes the Acquisition of Mikal's Holdings in Soltam, Saymar and ITL, Oct 17, 2010 (unavailable link)
- ↑ K. Kanarev, M. Frolov. Characteristics of the production and repair base of the Israeli military industry // Foreign Military Review, No. 7, 2010. pp.21-26
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 V. Mironov. Mortars of foreign armies // Foreign Military Review, No. 4, 1981, pp. 39-44
- ↑ ATHOS 2025 Autonomous, Towed Howitzer 155mm (Defense Update website) (inaccessible link) . Date of treatment December 17, 2011. Archived February 18, 2012.
- ↑ War Hatchet: Israel Orders More Cardom Self-Propelled Mortars // Defense Industry Daily of September 20, 2011
- ↑ Staff Writer. Soltam L-33 Self-Propelled Artillery (SPA ) . MilitaryFactory.com (July 23, 2014). Date of treatment November 14, 2015.
- ↑ Colonel A. Dzhutabaev: “Aybat”, “Nayza”, “Semser”. Kazakhstan has an ambitious program for the production of its own weapons // IA "Centrasia" dated 10.16.2008 (inaccessible link) . Date of treatment December 24, 2011. Archived May 24, 2018.
- ↑ The last stage of testing the new Kazakh artillery system // IA “Arms of Russia”
- ↑ G. Benditsky: Batteries ask for dough. "Newest" Kazakh-Israeli artillery systems do not stand up to criticism // IA "Centrasia" from 12/18/2008 (inaccessible link) . Date of treatment December 24, 2011. Archived May 24, 2018.
- ↑ Do not agree? The Israeli company "Saltam" broke a contract for $ 100 million with Kazakhstan // IA "Centrasia" from 04/03/2009