Israel Aerospace Industries signs two loitering munitions deals
Rotem has been in service with four European countries and IAI has just signed a deal to supply unspecified loitering munitions. (Photo: IAI)
Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has signed two separate agreements with two countries to deliver long-range loitering munitions under deals worth a combined value of US$145 million.
The deal for unspecified systems to undisclosed users has followed contracts the company signed in June with three NATO countries worth several million dollars to supply Rotem loitering munitions which in turn followed a similar agreement a month earlier with Estonia for Rotems.
Two years earlier, IAI had secured contracts worth more than $100 million including winning an international tender for the sale of Rotem to a foreign country, sale of the naval Harop system to the navy of a country in Asia and sale of the ground version of the Harop to another customer in Asia.
The success of attack UAS, whether dedicated or opportunistically modified, by both sides in the Ukraine war has increased focus on IAI’s offerings and its heritage with the development of Harpy stretches back almost two decades.
While the systems sold under the current contract remained unknown, it was likely it could be Rotem which as a quadcopter system is better able to loiter, easier to retrieve if a mission is cancelled, safer to operate and has already been used by as many as six countries.
In July 2023, MBDA Germany announced that it had signed a cooperation agreement with IAI for the production, integration, sales and marketing of the latter's loitering munition products in Germany, explicitly aimed at filling capability gaps in the German Air Force, Navy and Army.
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Land Warfare
-
CAVS rolls on as Denmark orders 129 vehicles
Denmark signed the Technical Arrangement for the multinational Common Armoured Vehicle System (CAVS) in April this year. The order means the country will receive its first vehicle this year.
-
MyDefence delivers counter-drone system to US Army ahead of livefire exercise
The Soldier-Kit system consists of detector, jammer, tablet and wideband antenna and is being evaluated as part of Project Flytrap 3.0 counter uncrewed aerial system (CUAS) exercise.
-
Czech CAESAR howitzer order at risk of cancellation
The Czech Republic ordered 52 CAmion Equipé d’un Système d’ARtillerie (CAESAR) self-propelled howitzers (SPHs) in 2021 and added another 10 a year later. A cancellation of the programme would impact both the army’s capabilities and local industry which is involved in the manufacture.
-
Sweden turns to Nammo and Rheinmetall as world demand grows for 155mm shells
Demand for ammunition continues to increase with manufacturing capability growing to match. Sweden have turned to the two supply lines of Rheinmetall and Nammo as part of a Nordic effort to meet demand. The Polish Government has also announced a US$700 million investment to boost manufacture of munitions.
-
Contract moves new Abrams tank forward in the face of cuts
Several US Army vehicle programmes were axed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s plans to transform the US Army, as outlined in the Letter to the Force: Army Transformation Initiative document. However, the new generation Abrams M1E3 main battle tank (MBT) was singled out for survival. But what will it look like?