The Connected Force Takes Shape

Walk through a defense exhibition today, and it is easy to notice the hardware first: a launcher, a drone, a sensor, a munition. Each has its own shape, its own mission, and its own engineering story. But the deeper question facing modern armed forces is no longer only what each system can do on its own. It is how quickly they can work together.

That question sits at the heart of Elbit Systems Germany’s presence at the 2026 ILA show in Berlin. A subsidiary of Elbit Systems and one of the group's primary regional hubs in Europe, the company is showcasing a broad portfolio of technologies tailored to the needs of the German Armed Forces and European partners. With additional facilities across Germany, Elbit Systems Germany combines local expertise, cooperation with German industry, and technologies developed across Elbit Systems’ global portfolio.

The result is not a single-product story but a layered one: secure communications, unmanned systems, precision strike, air defense, electronic warfare, sensing, protection, and command-and-control capabilities, all supporting the same operational objective.

The Network Behind the Mission

One of the central launches at ILA Berlin 2026 is E-LynX™ UxS, a new addition to Elbit Systems’ E-LynX™ Software Defined Radio family. It was developed to connect manned and unmanned aerial, ground, and maritime platforms within a unified and secure communications network.

That may sound technical, but the operational significance is straightforward. Unmanned platforms are becoming part of the maneuvering force itself. They carry cameras, sensors, telemetry, and command-and-control data. They can move ahead of soldiers, support formations from above, extend situational awareness, and help commanders understand what is happening beyond the immediate line of sight. Without resilient connectivity, however, they remain isolated tools rather than organic members of the force.

E-LynX™ UxS is designed to support a variety of payloads, and its compact form factor and low Size, Weight, and Power (SWaP) profile allow it to be integrated into aerial, ground, and maritime unmanned platforms. When paired with the E-LynX™ SR Soldier Radio, it supports a unified SDR ecosystem that brings autonomous platforms into the maneuvering force and turns Manned-Unmanned Teaming (MUM-T) from a concept into an operational capability.

At its core is Elbit Systems’ Mobile Ad-Hoc Networking architecture. Each platform can act as both a network participant and a relay node for other E-LynX radios, helping extend range and coverage through aerial and terrestrial relay nodes. In contested or challenging environments, where communications cannot be taken for granted, that kind of network resilience becomes a mission-critical capability rather than a background feature. 

Directed Energy Enters the Air Defense Picture

Alongside its communications portfolio, Elbit Systems presented High-Power Laser solutions for airborne platforms and Counter-UAS applications for the first time at ILA Berlin 2026. These directed-energy systems are designed for laser-based air defense, enabling the rapid and precise neutralization of a wide range of aerial threats while minimizing collateral effects.

Their appearance at ILA reflects a broader shift in the way air defense is evolving. No single layer can address every threat. Modern forces need different tools for different targets, different ranges, and different operational environments. Directed energy adds another layer to that architecture, especially as unmanned aerial threats become more numerous and more diverse.

The airborne and Counter-UAS laser solutions complement Elbit’s ground-based High-Power Laser technology being delivered.
 

Precision Strike With a German Industrial Footprint

Another major development at ILA Berlin is the strategic partnership between Elbit Systems and Diehl Defence. The two companies signed an agreement to jointly offer the SkyStriker™ loitering munition system to the German Armed Forces and, if selected, to manufacture and support the system in Germany.

SkyStriker™ is an autonomous, long-range loitering munition designed to locate, track, and engage operator-designated high-value targets with high accuracy. It can carry a warhead weighing up to 10 kilograms, loiter for more than two hours, and operate at ranges exceeding 200 kilometers. It can also be launched from multiple platforms, including land-based vehicles, the EuroPULS™ rocket launcher, naval vessels, containers, and aircraft.

For Germany, the significance of the partnership extends beyond the system itself. The cooperation includes local manufacturing, assembly, integration, and qualification activities at Diehl Defence. 

A Portfolio Built Across Domains

The rest of Elbit Systems Germany’s ILA display continues the same multi-domain logic. The company is presenting aircraft self-protection suites, the Iron Fist active protection system for armored vehicles, land-based electronic warfare capabilities, and PULS™, the multiple-launch rocket system already procured by Germany. SkyStriker™ is also presented in this broader context, including its ability to be deployed from PULS™ to deliver high-precision, long-range strike capability.

On the unmanned side, the showcase includes the Hermes™ 650 Spark, the latest addition to Elbit’s Hermes™ family of unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as the THOR and MAGNI-X multi-rotor UAS families. On the sensing and aircrew side, the company is presenting X-Sight, a helmet-mounted display and tracking system for helicopters, along with the SPECTRO™ family of electro-optic payloads, including the new SPECTRO™ 12, a smaller and lighter variant designed to deliver advanced sensing performance.

The Larger Message From Berlin

ILA Berlin 2026 comes at a time when European defense requirements are becoming more urgent, more complex, and more interconnected. Germany and its partners are looking not only for advanced platforms but for technologies that can be integrated into national and allied operational architectures.

Elbit Systems Germany’s showcase responds to that need not only through the breadth of its portfolio but also through a clear organizing principle. The future force will not be defined by a single decisive platform. It will be defined by the way soldiers, sensors, unmanned systems, launchers, aircraft, armored vehicles, and command networks operate as a single, resilient ecosystem.
 

FAQ
 

What is the new E-LynX UxS radio?

E-LynX™ UxS is a Software Defined Radio (SDR) solution designed to connect soldiers, manned platforms, and unmanned aerial, ground, and maritime systems within a secure and resilient communications network.

Why is E-LynX UxS important for unmanned systems?

It allows unmanned platforms to transmit telemetry, command-and-control data, video, and sensor feeds while operating as part of the same communications ecosystem used by soldiers and manned platforms.

What is SkyStriker?

SkyStriker is an autonomous, long-range loitering munition designed to locate, track, and engage operator-designated high-value targets with high accuracy.