ITL Optronics Ltd. has signed a letter of intent with a Western European NATO member country for the procurement of night vision systems. The order, valued at NIS 29 million, is for equipment to be be used by the purchasing country's special forces and army units. The systems were developed by ITL Optronics, and are used by the Israel Defense Force (IDF) and other armies around the world.
ITL Optronics general manager Amichai Robb stated that the orders backlog for the company and its subsidiaries was NIS 99 million, and that the new order would increase the backlog to NIS 129 million. The new order is due to be delivered during 2005. Robb further stated that 2004 would be a peak sales year for the company, and that he expected 2005 to be even better in terms of sales.
The Mini N/SEAS monocular night vision system, developed by ITL Optronics, is the most common system used by modern ground forces. Armies using the system include the IDF and NATO forces, as well as armies from the Scandinavian countries and Australia, and special forces in the Far East and South America.
ITL Optronics was founded in 1973 to commercialize a number of military laser technologies invented by Uzi Sharon.
The company is currently owned by Soltam, Israel’s fifth largest defense related conglomerate, (63%), ITL management (19%), and the public (18%).
ITL has two subsidiaries: International Technologies Lasers Inc. (ITL Inc.), a fully owned New Jersey-based company providing services to the US market; and NA-OR Systems, controlled by ITL Optronics (55%), which designs infantry-oriented, navigation, orientation, target acquisition and situational awareness systems.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on Thursday, December 09, 2004