Elbit Systems UK has completed the acquisition of UAV Tactical Systems (UTACS), taking full ownership of the British unmanned aerial systems (UAS) specialist and positioning itself as a larger force in European and NATO defense markets.
With regulatory and government approvals complete, Elbit Systems UK now plans to accelerate UTACS’ role as a British and regional hub for design, development, and support of unmanned systems.
This will see Elbit tapping its global experience in the uncrewed domain while keeping UTACS’ skilled UK workforce intact.
Elbit said the move will strengthen its ability to serve European and NATO customers, maintain existing programs, and underpin the UK’s defense industrial base in a technology segment that continues to expand across defense and security applications.
UTACS has supplied advanced tactical UAS to the British Army for over nearly 30 years, as well as to international customers such as the United Nations and NATO member states.
Bezhalel Machlis, President and CEO of Elbit Systems, said that the acquisition “further strengthens [the company’s] engineering and manufacturing capabilities across the continent.”
UTACS’ Footprint in the UK
UTACS — originally created as a joint venture between Elbit Systems UK and Thales UK to build the Watchkeeper — has been central to several major UK defense programs.
The Watchkeeper WK450, based on the Hermes 450 family, became one of the UK’s principal intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance assets, entering service with the British Army in 2019 after years of development.
Under Elbit’s majority ownership prior to this acquisition, UTACS was linked to a framework contract awarded in December 2022 worth up to $410 million to supply up to seven Watchkeeper X tactical UAS to Romania under NATO interoperability standards.
Additionally, UTACS has been involved in long‑standing support contracts with Thales and the UK Ministry of Defence to provide Hermes‑derived UAS and associated logistics and training services, activities that date back to the early 2000s and continued throughout UTACS’ evolution.
