In the middle of a police investigation into suspicions of deep corruption that is rocking Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. (IAI) (TASE: ARSP.B1), the company is trying to present a front of business as usual. IAI today announced two deals worth tens of millions of dollars each, both in South America.
In the first deal, IAI will supply a South American country with border defense systems. IAI declined to name the country. Systems included in the deal include BirdEye 650D tactical unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), BirdEye 40 mini-UAVs, and HoverMast 100 mini-UAV systems. IAI will also supply the South American customer with advanced land-based and mobile intelligence-gathering equipment. IAI subsidiary Elta Systems, which specializes in radar systems, is leading the deal. The company says that these systems will be used for early detection of various threats in the protected border area.
The border defense systems developed and manufactured by IAI will be displayed at the prestigious LAAD Defense and Security exhibition scheduled to open in a week's time in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. "The professional challenge in protecting the four border crossings involved is a big one, because the land contours are different, and there is no geographic proximity," IAI VP land systems Major General (res.) Gadi Shamni said today.
In the other deal, estimated by defense market sources at $50-60 million, a national cyber center will be built in a South American country. Elta Systems will coordinate the installing of the project, which is designed to enable the customer to detect and investigate cyber attacks, train cyber personnel, and establish public platforms for information sharing in this sphere. In the framework of this venture, Verint Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: VRNT) will install automated systems for detecting cyber attacks, thwarting cyber threats a the national level, etc. As part of the same venture, Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (Nasdaq: CHKP) will supply solutions for preventing cyber threats, including advanced access control, a laboratory for detecting cyber attacks in real time, etc. Cyber companies ClearSky and CyberX are also partners in the project.
These companies are members of the Israeli Companies Consortium, founded a year ago under the sponsorship of the Ministry of Economy and Industry for the purpose of using Israeli cyber companies to meet the growing need among various countries around the world in this area.
"The combination of technological cyber solutions from a variety of companies is a formula for success at an international and technological level," IAI cyber division general manager Esti Peshin said today. "The ability of Israeli companies to cooperate and create significant business activity in this matter is noteworthy. It is a case of the whole being greater than the sum of the parts."
Published by Globes [online], Israel Business News - www.globes-online.com - on March 27, 2017
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