Article Posted on : - Sep 09, 2011

SÃO JOSÉ DOS CAMPOS (BNS): Brazilian defence firm Embraer and Israel’s AEL Sistemas, a subsidiary of Elbit Systems, have formed a joint venture company, Harpia Sistemas, to develop, produce and market unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

The two defence firms had announced their partnership to jointly develop, produce and market UAVs and related components during the Latin America Aero & Defence (LAAD) 2011 exhibition in Rio de Janeiro on April 12.

While Embraer will hold 51% of Harpia’s capital, the remaining 49% will remain with AEL, the Brazilian firm announced Thursday.

Headquartered at Brasília in Brazil, Harpia’s activities will involve marketing, development, systems integration, manufacture, sales, and UAV after-sale support, as well as simulators and modernisation of avionics systems.

The company will provide broader solutions for complex systems, increasing the market-share of Brazilian made products in the national defence and security market, Embraer said.