Elbit won the tender to supply unmanned aircraft to the Romanian Ministry of Defense

2022 ends with another huge deal for the defense industries against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine: Elbit won the tender to supply unmanned aircraft to the Romanian Ministry of Defense. The parties have not yet signed a contract, but the value of the framework agreement is 410 million dollars.
Unusually, the transaction will be carried out through the British company Watchkeeper, which is a joint venture of Elbit and the British Thales. This is a company that was established to produce the Hermes 450 UAV in the UK, the export version of the Zik UAV that serves in the Air Force. So the Romanians will get an export version of the UAV sold to the British, known as Watchkeeper X.
In addition, part of the work will be carried out in Romania itself, through the local company U-TacS, after Elbit committed to the Romanian government to help establish a local drone industry. Romania will purchase seven drone systems, and is expected to operate them in reconnaissance, intelligence gathering and armament guidance roles, as in the British Army . The British tool is also compatible with NATO standards, which will make it easier for the Romanians, who are also members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, to operate it together with their allies. Romania has increased its defense budget in the past year, with the aim of strengthening the army following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as they did as Other Eastern European countries, such as Poland and Hungary.
Although last year it was allowed to be published that the Air Force operates armed drones, and that the Elbit Zik, which entered service in 1998, was the first of them, the Israeli defense industries have not yet received permission from the Ministry of Defense to export such drones, which are intended to carry out attack missions and then return to their base For further tasks. This is in contrast to suicide drones, also known as stray missiles, disposable tools that, according to foreign sources, the industries from Israel sold for more than a billion dollars to a number of countries in the world, including India and Azerbaijan. For unmanned attack missions, Romania will purchase a Birktir UAV from Turkey.
Bezalel Machlis, President and CEO of Elbit Systems, said that "the agreement demonstrates the existing demand for Elbit Systems' drone systems. We look forward to continuing to strengthen Elbit Systems' relationship with the Romanian government. As part of the implementation of the agreement, Elbit Systems intends to establish infrastructure and cooperation Industrial action with U-TacS, Aerostar and the subsidiaries of Elbit Systems in Romania, for the production of the UAV system in Romania."
In the first three quarters of this year, Elbit recorded revenues of $4.005 billion, an increase of 5.9%, and a net profit of $190 million, a decrease of 28.6%. Its order backlog stands at $14.7 billion, an all-time record.