Elbit Systems Will Supply Three Reconnaissance Drones to Romania

Israeli defense company Elbit Systems announced on June 21 that it has received an order from Romania, the purchase of the first three of seven planned Watchkeeper X reconnaissance drones.

The first phase of the contract with the Romanian Ministry of National Defense is valued at 180 million US dollars.

Elbit Systems will provide an upgraded Watchkeeper X drone with advanced capabilities.

Includes Spectro XR multi-spectral electro-optical payload, new communications capabilities, and more.

The Watchkeeper X drone is compliant with NATO standards enabling essential interoperability with other allied forces.

Watchkeeper X is the export variant of the Thales Watchkeeper WK450 which was developed from the Hermes 450 drone.

The drone was first unveiled to the public in 2015 at the DSEI 2015 defense exhibition in London.

In appearance the Watchkeeper X is similar to the WK450, but uses newer sensors, including a modernized and improved radar.

The Watchkeeper X also has underwing hardpoints for carrying external fuel tanks and light weapons such as the Free Fall Light Multirole Missile (FF-LMM) precision guided munition.