Cooperation Agreement in Defense Industry Signed Between Israeli Elbit and Czech LPP

Cooperation Agreement Between Israeli Elbit and Czech LPP

The signing ceremony under the aegis of Ambassador Designate Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Czech Republic to Israel, Veronika Kuchyňová Šmigolová, was attended by (LTG ret.) Miroslav Žižka, director of LPP, along with Amir Bettesh, vice-president Marketing&Business Development UAS of Elbit Systems.

One of the missions of our Embassy is to foster business collaboration and seek potential connections between Czech and Israeli industries, especially in the high-tech defense areas, where both can substantially contribute to the benefit of both military and civilian sector development.

Elbit Systems is a leading security technology producer in Israel and a prominent global supplier of UAVs. They are an exporter of defense systems that any modern army needs. LPP s.r.o. is one of the most advanced Czech companies in engineering, avionics and artificial intelligence.

The cooperation agreement between the two companies foresees production on the soil of the Czech Republic and encompasses the transfer of technology and a potential production line from Elbit. There are plans to work jointly on improvements and development of UAVs, with potential for joint R&D. In addition, Elbit and LPP will build a Center of Excellence for UAVs in the heart of Europe.

Cooperation of Czech and Israeli industries offers benefits to both sides. While Israel brings in high-tech systems the Czechs can contribute with their well-educated numerous engineers, less costly and stable supply chains and their position within EU and NATO. All major defense projects in the Czech Army have recently required a certain level of local cooperation in cases of foreign suppliers. In this case, we see a cooperation driven by joint interests and visions on the business-to-business level without an ongoing acquisition pushing it from the top.

The area of UAVs has become the core issue for many armies in the world. The experience with their use in recent conflicts, notably Ukraine, hints at the utmost necessity to plan acquiring many types of UAVs as well as their stable supply in the decades to come.