Israel’s Elbit to supply Montenegro with vehicle-mounted mortar system

TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel and Montenegro entered into a government-to-government contract that will see Israel’s Elbit Systems supply mortar systems and training equipment to the Balkan nation.

The deal, valued at €20 million (U.S. $21.8 million), is the latest between the two countries. In 2019 the first government-to-government deal was signed for $35 million in which Elbit Systems provided remote control weapons stations to the Balkan country.

The agreement between Montenegro and Israel is one of several recent contracts for Elbit in Europe, including multiple contracts in Romania. The sale was approved by the Director General of the Israel Ministry of Defense, Maj. Gen. Eyal Zamir.

“This marks the third agreement with our partners in Montenegro since bolstering our defense relations in 2019 and is a great expression of confidence in the Israeli defense industry,” said Gen. Yair Kulas, head of the International Defense Cooperation Directorate at Israel’s Ministry of Defense, in a statement. “Montenegro is a partner and ally of Israel and faces complex security challenges like other European countries.

The contract, signed in Tel Aviv, will include Elbit Systems 120mm mortar munition system that are mounted on vehicles. Photos show it being mounted and fired from the back of a lightly armored vehicle.

The previous 2019 contract included the supply of Remote Controlled Weapon Stations for what were at the time new Oshkosh Defense 4X4 Joint Light Tactical Vehicles . In May 2022, Oshkosh Defense said that along with Elbit Land Systems it had successfully demonstrated a live fire of Spear 120mm low recoil mortar on a JLTV Mortar variant during a multinational demonstration hosted in Israel.

Seth J. Frantzman is the Israel correspondent for Defense News. He has covered conflict in the Mideast since 2010 for different publications. He has experience covering the international coalition against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria, and he is a co-founder and executive director of the Middle East Center for Reporting and Analysis.

以色列特拉维夫——以色列和黑山签署了一项政府间合同，根据该合同，以色列埃尔比特系统公司将向这个巴尔干国家提供迫击炮系统和训练设备。

这项价值2000万欧元（约合2180万美元）的交易是两国间的最新合作。2019年，两国签署了首份政府间协议，价值3500万美元，埃尔比特系统公司向这个巴尔干国家提供了远程控制武器站。

黑山与以色列达成的这项协议是埃尔比特系统公司近期在欧洲签署的几份合同之一，其中包括在罗马尼亚的多份合同。该笔交易已获得以色列国防部总干事埃亚尔·扎米尔少将的批准。

以色列国防部国际防务合作局局长亚伊尔·库拉斯将军在一份声明中表示：“这是自2019年加强防务关系以来，我们与黑山伙伴签署的第三项协议，也是对以色列国防工业的极大信任。黑山是以色列的伙伴和盟友，与其他欧洲国家一样，面临着复杂的安全挑战。”

这份在特拉维夫签署的合同将包括埃尔比特系统公司生产的120毫米迫击炮弹药系统，该系统安装在车辆上。照片显示，该系统正在安装在一辆轻型装甲车的后部并进行发射。

此前的2019年合同包括为当时新推出的奥什科什防务公司（Oshkosh Defense）4x4联合轻型战术车辆（JLTV）提供遥控武器站。2022年5月，奥什科什防务公司表示，该公司与埃尔比特陆地系统公司（Elbit Land Systems）合作，在以色列举办的一次多国联合演习中，成功地在JLTV迫击炮改型车上演示了“矛”（Spear）120毫米低后坐力迫击炮的实弹射击。

塞思·J·弗兰茨曼是《防务新闻》的以色列记者。自2010年以来，他一直为多家媒体报道中东冲突。他曾报道过打击伊拉克和叙利亚境内伊斯兰国组织的国际联盟行动，并且是中东报道与分析中心的联合创始人兼执行主任。