In our article Pentapostagma we reported that Israel Aerospace Industries signed an agreement to acquire the Greek Intracom Defense (IDE), a leader in defense technology in the country. IDE, which specializes in the production of missile launchers, hybrid production and tactical land and sea communications, operates in Greece and other NATO countries.
The deal concerns 90.91% of the share capital or otherwise 23.1 million nominal shares. The remaining 9.09% of the shares remain in the hands of top and senior executives of IDE.
The signing confirms the already close military cooperation between Greece and Israel and further deepens the strong ties of their Armed Forces, contributing to strengthening the role played by the two countries in ensuring stability and security in the Eastern Mediterranean region and beyond.
We should note that, a few days ago, the Greece-Israel Defense Cooperation program for 2023 was signed in Tel Aviv, by the director of the Directorate of International Relations of General Staff of National Defense, Brigadier General Nikolaos Holeva and the head of the Department of International Cooperation of the General Staff of the Israeli Armed Forces , Colonel Gil Dolov.
IDE, which specializes in the production of launchers and missile subsystems, land and sea tactical communications, hybrid energy systems, etc. with activity in Greece and NATO countries and at the same time deep and long-term relationships with leading companies in the USA and Europe, is now owned by the Israeli group that already has business activities in Greece in particular and in Europe in general.
In fact, IDE recently signed with the General Directorate of Defense Equipment and Investments the national part of the contract for the development and construction of the LOTUS System, the European Unmanned Tactical Aircraft.
The Greek company will be integrated into the business dealings of Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and with other European states, while at the same time providing solutions to other neighboring nations.
IAI is a world leader in both defense and offensive systems as well as space and aviation. It is vital to meet global military engineering needs.
IAI conducts many collaborative activities in Europe, such as proven systems for defense and offensive purposes in space, air, land and sea. Now that they have acquired IDE, the Israel-based company will be able to benefit from production and maintenance across Europe and expand its product portfolio. This includes but is not limited to advanced air defense systems.
Boaz Levy, CEO of Israel Aerospace Industries said: “The acquisition of INTRACOM DEFENSE strengthens IAI's business capabilities in Greece and Europe as a whole. The acquisition of IDE will strengthen and expand the activities in Greece and among NATO countries and help to promote a wide range of solutions that the company can offer."
In addition, Sokratis Kokkalis, president of Intracom Holdings, stated that, "We are proud to participate today in strengthening the Greek defense industries and overall Greece-Israel relations."
Developments for IAI and benefits for Greece
Israel Aerospace Industries unveiled on Thursday, an Israeli-made unmanned mini-submarine that could change the game in the Aegean for our country. It is expected to expand the IDF's intelligence-gathering capabilities and significantly reduce maintenance and training costs.
The 12-meter-long BlueWhale mini-submarine is intended for covert intelligence-gathering operations. It can detect underwater and gather acoustic intelligence. It could be the beginning of a future in which both our nation's navy and Israel's navy shift to more unmanned vehicles that require fewer sailors.
Additionally, the vehicle's small size, which is possible because it does not need space for human operators, makes it much more difficult to detect enemy forces than many current naval options.
