INSTRO PRECISION
WHY TARGET INSTRO?
Instro Precision Ltd (“Instro”) is a Kent-based arms company, owned and controlled by Elbit. Its technology has been supplied to more than 50 countries – most notably Israel and Saudi Arabia.
In technical terms, Instro specialises in military-grade electro-optical equipment used for the purpose of target acquisition, surveillance and reconnaissance. Put simply, Instro makes equipment to locate targets (i.e. people) in order to destroy or kill them. It also makes equipment for armed forces’ spying and scouting missions.
Instro’s accounts identify that its Directors are “of the opinion that the company is ultimately controlled by Elbit”. A significant proportion of its Board of Directors have registered their address with Companies House as “Elbit Systems Electro-Optics Elop Ltd, Rehovot, Israel”.
Instro has expanded in recent years, and now employs over 100 people. In a five year period 49 export licences were granted to Instro with Israel identified as the end-user.
INSTRO’S WEAPONRY
Instro manufactures a broad range of military equipment, a number of which are in use by the Israeli Occupation Forces:
It makes weapons sights for infantry and heavy artillery use, including:
- The weapon-mountable XACT NV32 and NV33 night vision systems
- The XACT th64, XACT th65, XACT th68 and XACT th70 thermal weapons sights
- The XACT th100 thermal weapon sight for Heavy Machine Guns
This list is by no means exhaustive. In 2019, an Elbit press release stated that thousands of XACT th64 and XACT th65 weapons sights had been delivered to the Israeli military, for use by “marksmen of both Infantry and Special Operation Forces”. According to Instro, these weapons sights allow the Israeli military “to see in total darkness or in obscured daylight conditions.” The XACT th64 provides “human target recognition from a 600-meter range,” and the XACT th65, which is used on precision rifles, can recognise human targets from a 750 metre range.
With thousands of these weapons sights delivered to the Israeli military, it’s likely that they are used by Israeli snipers positioned at the Gaza fence. These snipers target and then shoot Palestinian people who are protesting for their right to return to their land.
Instro also manufactures COAPS (Commander Open Architecture Panoramic Sight), which has been integrated with Main Battle Tanks and Armoured Fighting Vehicles with “hunter-killer capabilities”, in use by the Israeli military.
Instro manufactures the Spectro-XR, an ultra-long range imaging system equipped with a wide variety of digital imaging, high definition sensors and advanced lasers. The Spectro-XR is compatible with the Hermes drone, which is in use by the Israeli military. Instro has also been concerned in the manufacture of add-ons for the Skylark surveillance drone, which is also heavily in use by the Israeli military. (“Skylark: A Family Affair”, Huw Williams, Janes International Defence Review March 2017)
Instro manufactures the Coral-CR, an electro-optical targeting system, used by the Israeli military.
It also makes the SupervisIR, a panoramic surveillance and target acquisition system which has been used by the Israeli military.
Instro manufactures the Rattler-H, a hand-held target designator equipped with laser range finder and digital compass to enable “rapid effective firing”. The Rattler-H is use by the Israeli military.
Instro has developed and manufactured sub-assemblies for the TIVS (Tunnel Indirect Vision System), which has been designed to replace episcopes for armoured fighting vehicles and tanks. Yoram Aron of Instro holds the patent to this technology. TIVS Iron Vision has been integrated with Main Battle Tanks and Armoured Fighting Vehicles in use by the Israeli military.
