Israel awards Elbit $192 million contract for new artillery training center

Israel’s Defense Ministry has signed a 15-year contract with Elbit Systems valued at approximately 600 million shekels ($192 million) to build and maintain a training and simulation center for the IDF Artillery Corps.

The new facility will support the introduction of the Roem, the IDF’s name for Elbit’s SIGMA 155 mm wheeled howitzer, and the Lahav, Israel’s version of Elbit’s PULS precision rocket launcher, which is similar to the U.S.-built HIMARS system.

The ministry’s Directorate of Defense Procurement announced the contract in a social media post on Monday, saying it had been signed in cooperation with the IDF Ground Arm.

According to an Elbit press release, “Under the contract, Elbit Systems will develop and deliver an advanced training infrastructure, including mission and driving simulators, training classrooms and dedicated facilities. The solution will feature simulation technologies, automation capabilities, AI-based functionalities and innovative driver training solutions. Elbit Systems will also provide training, maintenance and support services throughout the contract period.”

“The combination of advanced training and simulation technologies with a full, long-term support package will help the Artillery Corps realize the full firepower potential of the Roem cannon and the new systems, while saving and making optimal use of resources,” said Ze’ev Landau, head of the Directorate of Defense Procurement.

"We are proud to support the IDF Artillery Corps with advanced training and simulation solutions for the ROEM and LAHAV systems, key components of the IDF’s next-generation land firepower array, " said Boaz Cohen, General Manager of Elbit Systems Land & Armaments.

"This project further demonstrates Elbit Systems’ ability to deliver integrated and networked training solutions that combine advanced infrastructure, immersive simulation technologies and long-term partnership, enabling forces to maximize the operational potential of these advanced platforms," he continued.

“Elbit, as a partner to the needs of the defense establishment and the IDF, has developed for the Ground Arm one of the most advanced training and instruction systems in the world,” Cohen elaborated. “The artillery school and the training system for artillery fighters will allow the Artillery Corps high-quality and efficient training to keep the fire system at the highest readiness.”

The Roem is replacing the U.S.-built M109 howitzer, known as the Doher in the IDF, which has been in service since the early 1980s.

The Roem features a fully automated 155 mm gun mounted on a 10×10 truck. It requires a crew of three instead of seven, can fire up to eight rounds per minute and has a range of approximately 40 kilometers (25 miles), nearly twice that of the M109.

Elbit delivered the first Roem system to the IDF at its factory in Yokneam in late December 2025. The system then entered a training cycle at the Tze’elim base in southern Israel. By April 2026, the IDF’s 282nd Artillery Brigade was using it in combat in southern Lebanon.

The Lahav entered IDF service in 2020 and has also been purchased by several European armies.