Joint venture gets $70 million deal; will provide intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance support capability.
By GLOBES CORRESPONDENT311_Panther UAV(photo credit: Courtesy of IAI)
UAS Tactical Systems Ltd. (UTacS), a joint venture of Elbit Systems Ltd. and Thales UK, has won a $70 million follow-on Urgent Operating Capability (UOR) contract with the British Army. U-TacS will provide intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance (ISTAR) support capability. The contract will be implemented over the next 18 months.This is Elbit Systems’s third UTacS UOR contract with the British Army, following contracts in 2007 and 2009. In all the contracts, Elbit Systems will provide and support its Hermes 450 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and train UK Ministry of Defense staff in the use and maintenance of the system. The company will also provide contractor logistic support and program management services, which will be managed by Leicester-based U-TacS.“The Hermes 450 continues to make a significant contribution to UK operations, under very demanding circumstances, achieving exceptionally high levels of operational availability,” Elbit Systems president and CEO Joseph Ackerman said.Elbit Systems own 51 percent of U-TacS, and Thales UK owns 49%.
