Israel: $280M to Modernize Communications Hardware

(click to enlarge) In September 2010, Elbit Systems Ltd. announced a $280 million communications modernization contract from the Israeli Ministry of Defense. About $140 million will be invested in new communications equipment over the next 5 years, with the other $140 million paid over 20 years to upgrade and maintain existing systems. Per Israeli requirements, a key part of the project will be performed in a “development area” (here, the Southern Israeli city of Arad), as part of the Israeli Government’s policy to develop industries in the periphery. Elbit Systems. Israel has been implementing its Tsayad/DAP next-generation communications system over the last few years, in order to enable its different military branches to communicate more easily. It is currently nearing the end of Phase 1, and Elbit is the main contractor. This is not formally part of DAP, but it is complementary. Elbit and its subsidiary Tadiran Communications offer a wide range of radios, military computers, satellite terminals, and even battlefield command and control systems to the global marketplace. While they may lack the size and heft of Harris or Thales, they compete aggressively across a very wide range of systems, and have received substantial foreign orders.