Elbit Systems Awarded $114 Million Long-Range Patrol Aircraft Contract for an Asian Customer

Elbit Systems has announced that it was awarded a contract worth approximately $114 million with an Asia-Pacific country to supply two long-range patrol aircraft equipped with an advanced and comprehensive mission suite. The contract will be carried out over a period of five years, the company said July 10.

The customer is believed to be the Philippines which has a requirement for two long range patrol aircraft (LRPA) and the Israeli company is one of the contenders for the programme.

The two LRPA aircraft will be based on new ATR 72-600 and Elbit Systems will integrate in each aircraft a mission suite that includes a Mission Management System, Electro-Optics, Radar, SIGINT, Communication and more, the statement said.

Yoram Shmuely, General Manager of Elbit Systems Aerospace: “Elbit Systems has been supplying Special Mission Aircraft to various countries worldwide for over a decade for defence or governmental operational requirements. This contract extends the range of platforms and solutions we offer our customers, leveraging vast operational experience and in-house technologies and capabilities. We are proud to provide advanced solutions to our customers.”

The Philippines is a major customer of Elbit Systems and has a number of the company’s products in its inventory including major systems such as the Hermes 450, Hermes 900, Skylark LEX and Skylark 3 unmanned aerial systems, the Sabrah ASCOD II light tanks and Sabrah Pandur II armoured vehicles, and the 155mm ATMOS self propelled howitzers–elbit/adj/mhi (Pix: Elbit)