Stockholm-listed construction and engineering company Eltel AB has won an Israeli Ministry of Defense tender to supply drones to the Israeli army, an Israeli defense ministry spokeswoman said in a message sent to Calcalist. Eltel prevailed over Israeli defense contractors Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd., government-owned defense contractor Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. (IAI) and Elbit Systems Ltd. Intel-backed Jiangsu, China-based Yuneec International Co. Ltd. also participated in the Israeli Defense Ministry’s tender.
The drones will be used as observation drones for the Israeli military’s infantry units, a military spokesman said in a phone interview with Calcalist Monday.
Eltel has partnered with the Israeli unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) startup CopterPix Pro Ltd., which sits in a Kibbutz near the Gaza border. Founded by veterans of the Israeli army’s UAV units in 2013, the company has 20 employees, according to its website.
Israel’s Air Force has been operating UAVs varying in size and application for decades, primarily for intelligence-gathering. The IDF currently operates more than 400 drones and employs over 1000 soldiers trained as UAV operators.
Source: CTECH