26.12.2022

Romania has signed an agreement on the purchase of unmanned aerial vehicles Watchkeeper X

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The original was taken from a colleague of olegranovsky in "Elbit" is approaching the delivery of the UAV Watchkeeper X RomaniaIn June of this year I wrote:

20.06.22 Romania has announced that it is terminating the "army" tender for the purchase of UAS II tactical UAVs and will apparently hold a new tender for the amended requirements. The holding of this tender was approved by the country's parliament in 2020, 21 UAVs and ground equipment were to be purchased for $ 277 million. As part of the tender, Elbit, together with Thales, offered the UAV Watchkeeper (WK450), created on the basis of Hermes-450. Elbit even created the production of UAV parts in Romania.

And so, exactly half a year later, on 12/21/12, the official website of the company "Elbit Maarahot" reported: "Elbit" signed a framework contract for a maximum amount of about 410 million US dollars (approximately 1.891 billion Romanian lei, 380 million euros) for the supply of up to 7 tactical unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) Watchkeeper X to the Romanian Ministry of Defense with a validity period of 5 years. A specific purchase order under the contract has not yet been received.

The Watchkeeper X UAV is an export version of the WK450 of the British Army, produced by the subsidiary of Elbit in the UK - UAV Tactical Systems Limited (U-TACs). Watchkeeper X's compatibility with NATO standards ensures significant interaction with NATO and other allied forces.

Bezalel (Buchi) Makhlis, President and CEO of Elbit, commented: "This contract demonstrates a steady demand for the Elbit UAV. We look forward to further strengthening Elbit's relations with the Romanian Government. As part of the contract, Elbit plans to establish infrastructure and industrial cooperation with U-TACs, Aerostar and subsidiaries of Elbit in Romania for the production of UAV systems in Romania. We also appreciate the continued support and cooperation with the Governments of Israel and the UK and our business partners in the Watchkeeper program."

The Romanian website HotNews published an article on the issue a day earlier, on 12/20/12. To the above, we can add that each system will include 3 UAVs, i.e. when the framework agreement is implemented in full, we will be talking about 21 UAVs, as originally planned. The UAVs will be reconnaissance and strike, a year ago the Watchkeeper X model was demonstrated with 2 ammunition under each wing.

On the territory of Romania, starting from the 1st system, it is planned to produce a UAV airframe, a container for a ground control point, a number of electrical and mechanical elements. And starting from the 3rd system - all electrical and mechanical systems. Maintenance of the systems will also be organized in Romania. The general purchase of the complexes will be carried out through the Romanian company C.N. Romtehnica S.A. In Romania, UAV systems will be classified as Sistem UAS tactical-operativ clasa II, i.e. "Tactical-operational UAV system of the 2nd class".