IWI would provide the technology and manufacturing expertise, while AIA would set up the plant and handle deliveries and support throughout the weapons’ service lives. The companies did not say when the factory would open or how many weapons it would make.
“A strong Dutch industrial base is fundamental to national security,” said AIA chief executive Gerard Zondervan. “The Netherlands needs the ability to manufacture, develop expertise and support the defense systems on which its security depends.”
“We see this cooperation as an opportunity to bring our decades of experience developing and manufacturing weapon platforms for demanding operational environments into a new industrial setting,” said Ronen Hamudot, vice-chairman of IWI’s parent company, SK Group. IWI supplies the Israeli army and police and says its weapons are used in more than 60 countries.
AIA makes ammunition and weapon systems and develops equipment to counter drones. The Artillerie Inrichtingen name has roots in Dutch defence manufacturing dating back to 1679.
