Elisra general manager Avner Raz today (Tuesday) sharply criticised the Ministry of Defence which, he said, is not doing enough to bring about the consolidation of defence industries engaging in identical fields of endeavour. Raz asserted that a single Israeli electronic warfare company ought to be set up at once, and will become one of the world’s three biggest companies in that sector.
"The US Defence Department", Raz said, "funded the consolidation of US defence industries out of its own pocket, and they became a model for world-wide emulation. Lockheed Martin, for example, was granted a billion dollars to complete its merger with the Northrop-Grumman concern".
"Israel has three companies operating in the electronic warfare sector - Elisra, Elta and Rafael, and no serious effort has been made to merge them. This idea should be treated seriously, considering that the world-wide EW market is $5 billion annually.
"The position of Israel’s defence industries is not good, and a situation has come about in which, because of the competition, there are no profits, despite fine contracts. A bad manpower shortage situation has also emerged. Average age today is 45-50, and young people are not coming in because the industries have such a poor image. In ten years time, all the defence industries will have to be pensioned off and the sector is liable to deteriorate".
Raz revealed that Elisra was chosen to supply the Australian Air Force with $40 million worth of EW systems for naval reconnaissance planes. The systems will be installed in Sea Hawk and Sea Sprite helicopters, and will serve for identification and collection of intelligence information, and for laser deterrence. Elisra successfully competed against Luton of the United States, and expects to expand supply also to Australian Air Force planes.
Elisra was also the successful bidder in a tender for the supply of passive early warning systems for Israel’s Yassour and Black Hawk helicopters. According to Raz, the contract significantly improves the company’s chances of supplying similar systems to European countries that participate in the UN peace keeping forces, and to Asian countries that have expressed an interest in them.
Elisra has also succeeded, for the first time, in selling $15 million worth of systems to Germany, which has fitted its Yassour helicopters operating in Bosnia with systems designed to boost their security against missile threats.
Elisra also won a $25 million contract for upgrading electronic warfare systems in Venezuela’s F16s. The Israeli systems will replace outdated US systems, and Elisra was awarded the contract despite heavy American political pressure on the Venezuelan government.