A computer called Elbit 100

Elbit began as a computer company. In 1966 the electronics group Elron and Israel’s Ministry of Defense founded Elbit Computers Ltd. to build computers and electronics for the Israeli military. Its first product was a minicomputer, the Elbit 100, which sold well enough to civilian buyers that in 1970 the American firm Control Data Corporation bought the government’s stake for US$1 million and marketed Elbit machines worldwide. Through the 1970s Elbit kept building minicomputers, including the ANAT, developed with Germany’s Nixdorf, and floated on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange in 1978.

From minicomputers to fighter avionics

The 1980s turned Elbit into a defence electronics house. It developed systems for Israel’s Lavi fighter and the Merkava tank, dropped Computers from its name, and saw Control Data sell out. In 1996 the group split into three, and Elbit Systems emerged as the defence arm. In 2000 it merged with the optics maker El-Op, controlled by Michael Federmann, creating Israel’s largest non-governmental defence electronics company. Acquisitions followed fast: the electronic-warfare house Elisra, Tadiran Communications in 2007, the American night-vision business of Harris in 2019 for US$350 million, and the state-owned land-weapons maker IMI Systems in 2018.

The Hermes family

In the air, Elbit is best known for drones. The Hermes 450, introduced in 1998, is a medium-sized reconnaissance aircraft with a V-tail and an endurance of more than 20 hours, and it became one of the most widely used military drones in the world. Britain leased Hermes 450s for Iraq and Afghanistan, where they flew more than 86,000 hours, and it formed the basis of the British Army’s Watchkeeper, built with Thales at Leicester. The larger Hermes 900 first flew on 9 December 2009 and was rushed into action in Gaza in 2014. Elbit produces about 85 per cent of the Israeli Air Force’s drones.

Upgrading other people’s jets

Elbit also makes a living giving old fighters new brains. From 1995 to 2002 it worked with Romania’s Aerostar on the MiG-21 LanceR, a Soviet airframe with Israeli displays, a helmet-mounted sight and a modern radar. Through its joint venture with Rockwell Collins it supplies fighter pilots’ helmet-mounted displays, and its American arm in Fort Worth, once General Dynamics’ electronics plant, builds parts for the F-16 and V-22. Elbit also runs pilot training: its joint venture with KBR manages the UK Military Flight Training System under a £500 million contract, and Greece signed a 22-year training partnership with it.

Record backlog, constant controversy

Elbit’s growth has been relentless. In 2025 revenue reached US$7.94 billion, up from US$6.83 billion, with an order backlog of US$28.1 billion and about 20,000 employees, 3,200 of them in the United States. Its drones have also drawn it into controversy. A Hermes 450 was used in the 2024 strike that killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers in Gaza, and protesters have targeted its factories in Britain, where activists claimed credit when Elbit sold its Oldham subsidiary in 2022. Several investment funds have divested. In 2026 Elbit bought out Thales’s share of the Watchkeeper venture, planning to build drones for European customers at Leicester.

Factories

• Elbit Systems of America, Fort Worth · Fort Worth, Texas — US headquarters; former General Dynamics electronics plant; F-16 and V-22 parts
• UAV Tactical Systems · Leicester, England — Watchkeeper production; fully Elbit-owned from 2026
• UAV Engines Ltd · United Kingdom — Wankel engines for drones, acquired from Alvis in 1995
• Elbit Systems Deutschland · Ulm, Germany — Former Telefunken radio business
• M7 Aerospace · San Antonio, Texas — Formerly Fairchild Dornier Aviation

People

• Michael Federmann · chairman and largest shareholder — Controlled El-Op before the 2000 merger
• Bezhalel Machlis · President and CEO — Reported the record 2025 results
• David Garside · engineer — Founded the Wankel drone-engine maker Elbit bought in 1995