Senior Ministry of Defense officials and their French counterparts will this week sign an agreement, valued at $200 million, for the transfer of know-how to the French defense industries about the manufacture of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
According to defense sector sources, France's final decision will be made in the next two days. A joint official announcement will apparently be made at Eurosatory 2004, the international exhibition for land and land-air defense, in Paris.
As part of the agreement, the French defense industries, Dassault Aviation and European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company EADS NV (EADS) will develop a UAV, called Eagle, based on Israel Aircraft Industries' (IAI) Heron/Eagle (Mahats) long-endurance medium-altitude UAV. The French military already uses IAI-made Hunter UAVs, which it purchased six years ago in a smaller $30 million deal, as well as Heron/Eagle medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) type UAVs which it purchased three years ago.
Over the past few days, IAI president and CEO Moshe Keret and Ministry of Defense director-general Amos Yaron have been negotiating feverishly with the French, in order to close the deal and make the announcement at Eurosatory 2004.
According to Israeli defense sector sources, manufacturing the Eagle UAV in France will open additional markets to Israel, especially those that are forbidden from acquiring Israeli-made UAVs.
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on Monday, June 14, 2004