Israeli defence firm agrees £120m deal with the Royal Navy

An Israeli defence firm has shaken hands on a £120 million deal with the UK’s Royal Navy to train British sailors and submariners on changing nature of security at sea.

Elbit Systems’ UK subsidiary was part of the Fisher consortium that won a 12-year contract to modernise the Navy’s shore-based training and establish a Future Submarine School.

Elbit has previously sold training aircraft to the Royal Air Force and both battlefield management systems and Watchkeeper drones to the British Army, but this is its first deal with the Royal Navy.

“We’re proud to be a part of the team to deliver next-generation training capabilities to the Royal Navy,” said Martin Fausset, chief executive of Elbit Systems UK. Suggesting it may speed up reaction times, he said it would help British personnel “achieve their potential and arrive at the front line quicker”.

Last month an Israeli sub reportedly crossed the Suez Canal and surfaced facing the Persian Gulf, with Egypt having approved the mission. Kan News reported an Israeli intelligence source as saying it was meant “to send a message to Iran”, whose forces boast prowess in its territorial waters.

Last year the Israeli government approved £300 million to be spent on a series of special defence projects, much of it applying the revolutionising power of quantum computing to military tasks such as detecting stealth aircraft or submarines.