Will the major deal to supply Israeli radar systems to the Czech army go through? Doubts have been raised in recent days about the €175 million deal, in which Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. (IAI) (TASE: ARSP.B1) subsidiary Elta Systems undertook to supply eight radar systems to the Czech armny.
The crisis in the deal began with a new instruction issued by the Czech Ministry of Defense to delay it at this stage out of concern that the Israeli radar systems cannot be connected to other systems used by NATO forces. The Czech Ministry of Defense defined the current format of the deal as "hazardous."
The ELM-2084 multi-mission radar systems in the deal are already in use by the IDF, among other things in missions of locating the source of rockets fired at Israeli territory.
The multi-mission radar is also used by the Israel air force in Iron Dome, its active defense system against rocket fire. In addition to its ability to identify rocket fire, the system can also calculate the rocket's trajectory and provide a precise assessment of where it will fall.
Thanks to this unique capability, the Iron Dome system launches interceptors only if the rockets are expected to hit populated areas.
Elta Systems has sold 100 of these radar systems in recent years to a series of countries around the world for a total of $2 billion.
The radar deal with the Czech Republic was concluded 18 months ago. In view of the crisis involving the deal, the Czech Ministry of Defense is expected to hold discussions to determine its fate over the coming month.
IAI told "Globes," "The company does not comment on the deals it makes with its customers."
Published by Globes [online], Israel Business News - www.globes-online.com - on March 18, 2018
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