Aerial photography has existed for more than a century, but now a special team at Elbit Systems is working on a revolution that will change it completely. “We aspire to move on from systems that have been around for 20 years. By next year, the revolution will be operational.” says Yuval Vanunu, who is leading the development of an aerial photography system called Condor MS, one of the more intriguing ventures at the company.
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“We’re developing a product for the operational need for multi-spectral imaging of geographical areas. In practice, it’s a platform of a camera pod installed on jet fighters. After the required terrain is photographed, the collected information is analyzed. Additionally, the Condor MS enables information to be conveyed to ground stations in real time, to update and optimize the mission based on the information,” Yuval says.
According to him, what attracted him to the project is the technological challenge. “You have to understand that these projects are multi-disciplinary. They involve optics, electronics, software, algorithms, control, system engineering and more. As a development manager, my job is to bring this diverse team to speak one language.”
Yuval’s sources of inspiration as development manager arrive from the world of sports, one of his greatest passions. “Great athletes aren’t only talented, but also are able to inspire and lead the entire team” he says. “Ultimately, a lot of great players don’t necessarily lead their team to achievements – the leader always has to be trained to cohere a team around him. For me, that’s a model for emulation, not only in sports, but at work.”
Yuval is a keen basketball fan, but actually, the greatest sport of all, in his opinion, is soccer – “not Messi or Ronaldo, but Diego Armando Maradona. His ability to influence the Italian team and bring them to achievements is a thing I take with me to this very day.”
