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.

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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.

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