- Title: Israel goes Electronic
- Date: 28th April 1975
- Summary: No shotlist available Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 13th May 1975 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Elta factory, Ashdod
- Country: Israel
- Reuters ID: LVA2E1XHMK0Q6AFFHRH2RUN4LA60
- Story Text: Israel goes electronic, small countries like Israel, who want to stay competitive must go electronic these days, and one of the first to go electronic in Israel are of course its defence forces. Outnumbered at least five to one for over 20 years now, IDF must stay better qualitative since in quantity the Arabs will always have the upper hand. And with the experience of the past, when Israel was plagued by embargoes from this camp or that, it must be self sufficient or as near to self sufficient as can be. This starts with production and Elta Electronic Ind., a subsidiary of the Israel Aircraft Industries Ltd, who just surprised the world with its "Kfir" fighter-bomber aircraft, Elta, a company with a yearly turnover of 25-30 m. dollars, Elta, the most modern electronic company in Israel and one of the most modern by any standard in the world, is the first step to such self sufficiency. (See General Info sheet attached) Thus ELTA is, amongst other things, is a chief supplier to the defence forces, with an impressive list of products needed for the defence of the country. In its 11 years of existence Elta has been dealing in advanced military and industrial products, mostly of its own development and design. Its equipment has NATO codes and numbers and is NATO qualified, its equipment is combat proven and Elta has the comprehensive capability starting with an operational problem through preparation of operational specification, technical specification, design and development to production, installation, running in, commissioning and after-sales-service, i.e. is also producing the spare parts to its products. And with a customer like the IDF, Elta must be constantly concerned with reliability and the maintainability of its equipment. Therefor, in concern with its customers, the specifications, design and development are carried through to ensure that the equipment will serve its purpose under most stringent and difficult environmental and operational conditions. This becomes evident in the modular construction and
through the built-in testing equipment, facilitating field maintenance. And unlike other electronic industries Elta is to a large extent self sufficient in all the techniques and technologies required for the production of high level electronic equipment. US $ 12m in export orders are already on the books during the first month of the current year and Elta is already planning an extension of its operations. About 20% of its 1700 strong workforce are academically trained personnel from technically advanced nations all over the world and of course Israel itself, the remainder are locally trained personnel, often new immigrants who have settled in Ashdod, Israel's youngest port city itself. And "brains", the basic requirement for electronic equipment and development, is the export item with the biggest added value - and export Israel must.
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