Israel’s Elbit Systems [ESLT] yesterday said it has acquired General Dynamics’ [GD] interest in a joint venture between the two companies aimed at marketing unmanned aircraft systems in the United States.
Terms of the deal for UAS Dynamics were not disclosed. Elbit’s United States-based division will be responsible for UAS Dynamics.
GD and Elbit Systems of America began the joint venture several years ago to focus on bidding Elbit’s Storm Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) for the Navy’s Small Tactical UAS TIER II competition that was eventually won by Boeing’s [BA] Insitu unit in the fall of 2010.
“The integration of UAS Dynamics with Elbit Systems of America’s unmanned systems business unit will enable us to pursue opportunities associated with unmanned technologies and capabilities across multiple domains, and we will continue to look for opportunities to provide U.S. warfighters with innovative solutions that meet their diverse mission needs,” Raanan Horowitz, president and CEO of Elbit Systems of America, said in a statement.