Employees check an Elbit Systems Ltd. Hermes 900 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) at the company’s drone factory in Rehovot, Israel, June 28, 2018. Picture taken June 28, 2018. Photo: REUTERS/Orel Cohen.

JNS.org – The United Arab Emirates subsidiary of Israel’s Elbit Systems Ltd. has won a $53 million, five-year contract to supply anti-missile and electronic warfare systems to the UAE Air Force.

Under the agreement, Elbit Systems Emirates will supply the UAEAF with its J-MUSIC Self-Protection System and infrared-based Passive Airborne Warning System to protect its Airbus A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport aircraft.

According to the Israeli aerospace and defense company, growing threats posed by shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles have led to increasing demand for such systems.

Elbit’s Direct Infrared Countermeasures anti-missile systems are currently installed on over 25 different types of aircraft and have logged over 350,000 operational flight hours to date, according to a company statement.