Israel’s IAI Picks Up $350 m. European Contract

Israel Aerospace Industries has won a contract worth $350 million to produce special mission aircraft for an unspecified “major European country.” An IAI statement issued on Monday failed to note the number of aircraft included in the deal, but said its Elta Systems subsidiary would carry out the work. Special mission aircraft are generally non-combat airframes outfitted for use in early warning, air-to-ground surveillance, maritime patrol and signal intelligence-gathering. Elta specializes in the equipment required for such missions. The aircraft involved generally tend to be large passenger or cargo planes that are converted for this purpose, although IAI has come to be known for its ability to integrate miniaturized sensors into business-type aircraft. Israel’s air force operates several such IAI-converted airframes, as do several other countries, including Italy, Australia and Singapore.