WASHINGTON — Elbit Systems UK has opened an advanced manufacturing and development facility in Bristol, England, following three years of planning and more than £35 million (U.S. $46 million) in investments, the company announced Tuesday.
The facility is meant to provide technology research, development and manufacturing for the British military and other NATO customers. There are 680 employees working for the Israeli firm’s U.K.-based subsidiaries, and there are plans to hire more than 200 people to work at the new site.
During a ceremony marking the facility’s opening, the company demonstrated several capabilities, including electronic warfare technology. The U.K. awarded a £100 million contract to an industrial team that included Elbit for an electronic warfare system for the Royal Navy. The program, dubbed Maritime Electronic Warfare Systems Integrated Capability, or MEWSIC, Increment 1 is the first phase of a £500 million effort to bolster frigates and aircraft carriers.
Elbit also showed off a virtual combined-arms simulator; its Torch-X command-and-control technology; its E-Lynx radio system; a ground-based surveillance radar; nv33 night vision goggles, which are currently in service with British forces; and several miniature uncrewed systems in service and on trial with the British Armed Forces. The company did not identify the uncrewed platforms to Defense News by press time.
The U.K. awarded Elbit Systems a contract in January to provide the Army with Magni-X micro-drones. The company was to deliver the drones by mid-2023, but would not tell Defense News the status of the order.
“The opening of this facility is a testament to the success of Elbit Systems UK over the last three years and demonstrates the successful implementation of our strategy set out three years ago,” Martin Fausset, CEO of Elbit Systems UK, said in a statement. “Our commitment to providing cutting-edge, sovereign capability to the UK Armed Forces has allowed us to grow our presence, investing in our people and our facilities to support our frontline customers.”
Georgina DiNardo is an editorial fellow for Military Times and Defense News and a recent graduate of American University, specializing in journalism, psychology, and photography in Washington, D.C.
