The Pedestal-Operated Multi-Ammunition Launching System (POMALS) has been developed by Israel Military Industries as a private venture and can be installed on MBTs and other AFVs to improve their battlefield survivability.

An ÌÂÒ would typically have two pedestals mounted each side of the turret to give coverage to the front and sides of the vehicle.

POMALS is slaved to an automatic detection system which spots incoming radiation emitted by laser range-finders, laser designators or infra-red sources. POMALS can also be slaved to automatic detectors designed for ultraviolet radar or other electromagnetic radiation.

When a signal is detected, the POMALS instantly responds by launching smoke grenades, chaff and/or flares, decoys, anti-personnel grenades, high-explosive grenades or other special munitions.

A typical POMALS would include the power-operated pedestal which can traverse through 220° (110° left and 110° right) with its ammunition launcher, control box mounted inside the turret, electrical system and the AMCORM LWS-2 laser warning system which is already installed on recent production Merkava MBTs and for which there is a separate entry in the Threat Warning Systems section.

The basic launcher contains 16 launching tubes with up to 20° dispersion in azimuth but smaller customised launchers can be fitted if required, for example the IS-6 launcher system covered in the previous entry. This is the version shown on the M60 series photograph used to illustrate this entry.

The control box would normally be mounted at the commander's position. It has a manual override and a 30" step azimuth calibrator. It also provides threat identification, visual directional display of the threat source using a digital and clock-type display and an auto alert to the commander and crew.

The LWS-2 immediately signals the control box which initiates pedestal traverse and launches countermeasures towards the laser-detected beam.

As an option, the POMALS can be fitted with a built-in automatic wind compensation sensor and can be upgraded to include Identification Friend-or-Foe (IFF) capability, saving ammunition and further enhancing survivability.

POMALS also forms a key part of the Israel Military Industries Active aFimor Protection Against anti-tank guided Missile (ARPAM) defensive aids system technology demonstrator which is covered in detail in the Threat warning section. As far as it is known POMALS remains at the prototype stage.

Further development of POMALS by Israel Military Industries has resulted in the Dismounted POMALS multi-ammunition launching system, an example of which has recently been delivered to the US Army for testing and evaluation.

This high performance and rapid response system provides a full 360° coverage against different types of threat and can provide maximum defensive cover for large installations, using minimum resources.

The exact POMALS depends on the users specific requirement but can include an AMCORM LWS-2 laser warning system (qv) and/or Israel Military Industries PIANO (qv) passive electro-optical warning system, grenade launchers and a unit for automatic or manual system operation.

Other sensors can act as replacements or be attached to the system while the pedestal can be operated with different ammunition types or launchers. Each launcher can carry up to 16 tubes.

The basic smoke grenades are the improved CL 3030 instantaneous smoke screen type which create a 50 m wide x 8 m high smoke screen within two seconds at a distance of 80 m from the launcher.

According to Israel Military Industries a configuration of three or four pedestals can provide optimum POMALS defence.

Development complete. Ready for production. While the complete POMALS is not in service with the Israel Defence Force (IDF), elements of this system such as LWS-2 and the grenade launchers have been in service for sometime.