Airbus says it's joining forces with Israel Aerospace Industries to develop a new airborne early warning and control aircraft.
Spokeswoman Barbara Kracht said Tuesday this is the first time that Airbus will jointly work with an Israeli company on a military project.
The aircraft will monitor airspace using airborne radar and warn of approaching enemy aircraft, as well as acting as a command platform.
- It is a derivative of Airbus' popular C-295 passenger and cargo aircraft. Airbus unveiled a demonstrator of the twin turboprop with rotating radar dome mounted above the rear fuselage earlier this month.
Initial flight trials have shown that the aircraft is aerodynamically an excellent platform for this purpose, Airbus said.