❗️Israel deepens military ties with Albania as Elbit secures new weapons deal – The Cradle
❗️Israel deepens military ties with Albania as Elbit secures new weapons deal
Elbit Systems will supply Albania with artillery, mortar systems, and tactical drones while helping Tirana establish a domestic defense industry.
Under a September agreement between the two governments, Elbit will deliver 155-mm ATMOS truck-mounted howitzers, 120-mm SPEAR mortars, and Magni-X and Thor drones. The deal also commits Elbit to assist Albania’s state-owned KAYO company in building production lines and a 5,000-square-meter weapons plant in the country’s north.
Financial details were not disclosed. Albanian media say the government routinely withholds figures when negotiating with large US and Israeli defense firms, with Israel’s ASHRA export insurance corporation expected to underwrite the project.
Prime Minister Edi Rama has framed the partnership as part of a broader effort to create a domestic defense sector. Albania joined NATO over 15 years ago and has sharply increased military spending, with officials claiming Israeli technology will allow the country to produce its own drones by 2027.
Elbit previously signed a separate agreement in April to open a flight school in the coastal city of Vlorë, also in cooperation with KAYO.
Neither Elbit Systems nor Israel’s Defense Ministry commented on the latest deal, and the Albanian government has not provided public details.
(Haaretz)
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