ILLeaked internal documents from Elbit Systems, Israel's largest arms manufacturer, reveal that the company was engaged in discussions with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to sell advanced drones and other military equipment between late 2021 and early 2023. The documents include pricing proposals, requests from the UAE, and communications among Elbit executives. The information was obtained by an Iranian-backed hacker group called Handala, which stole the files from an unsecured personal Gmail account. The revelations were first reported by Haaretz and later by Drop Site News, an outlet critical of Israel. While Elbit previously disclosed a $53 million deal in 2022, it recently announced a $2.3 billion agreement with an unnamed customer, speculated to be the UAE. The documents suggest the UAE sought multiple Hermes-900 drones, capable of providing high-resolution real-time imagery, and showed interest in expanding the purchase. Elbit also pitched a newer drone model, the Hermes-650, to the UAE in 2023, ahead of its public debut.
Bias read (Center): The article presents factual information about Elbit's business dealings with the UAE without overtly favoring either side. It reports on leaked documents, mentions both supportive and critical outlets (Haaretz and Drop Site News), and provides balanced context regarding Elbit's history with the UAE
