Aeronautics Ltd. will supply its Aerostar tactical unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to the Polish Army for operations in Afghanistan. The contract is worth $30 million.
Aeronautics said that it bid against its two Israeli UAV rivals - Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. (IAI) (TASE: ARSP.B1) and Elbit Systems Ltd. (Nasdaq: ESLT; TASE: ESLT) - in the tender. The company added that the tender process took 18 months, with the pace picking up in view of the Polish Army's increased operations in Afghanistan.
Aeronautics will supply the Polish Army with two Aerostar tactical UAV systems, which includes eight UAVs, ground control stations, and simulators. The company will also provide set-up support and training in Poland for a UAV squadron, which will operate in Afghanistan.
Aeronautics already supplies its Orbiter mini UAV to the Polish Army.
The Aerostar weighs 230 kilograms. It has a maximum operating altitude of 6,000 meters and a range of 250 kilometers.
Aeronautics is one of five Israeli UAV manufacturers. The company has ten subsidiaries, which specialize in developing photoreconnaissance, military communications, observation balloons, software and military electronics, and other systems.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on March 2, 2010
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