Leaked Documents Reveal Uganda’s Military Ties with Elbit Systems

By Staff, Agencies

Leaked internal documents reviewed by Drop Site News reveal details of a years-long military relationship between Uganda and "Israeli" weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems, including multimillion-dollar agreements for Hermes surveillance drones, intelligence systems, and other military equipment.

The revelations come as Uganda moves toward deploying troops to the Gaza Strip as part of an international "stabilization force" proposed under US President Donald Trump's "Board of Peace," raising questions about Kampala's expanding security relationship with the "Israeli regime."

Uganda's parliament authorized the deployment last month. Defense Minister Kiryowa Kiwanuka told lawmakers that President Yoweri Museveni was ready to deploy troops to Gaza, adding that a formal status-of-forces agreement would be negotiated following parliamentary approval.

The Ugandan government has not publicly detailed the proposed mission or clarified what role its troops would perform. Opposition lawmaker Hassan Kirumira questioned the deployment during the parliamentary debate, asking, "On which side is our army going to fight?"

According to the leaked documents, Elbit Systems has worked with Uganda for years to expand its military drone capabilities and develop surveillance infrastructure for the Ugandan Military Intelligence and Special Forces Command.

The archive includes a signed March 2024 contract worth $52.1 million for four Hermes 900 drones and supporting infrastructure.

The agreement also covers Elbit's SkEye wide-area surveillance system and ground-based surveillance systems, with the Ugandan government, Military Intelligence, and Special Forces Command identified as the end users.

The documents state that Uganda had already transferred $14.2 million to Elbit in 2021, with the amount to be credited toward the expanded agreement.

The records also refer to an AES-210 electronic-intelligence system and a SkyStriker loitering munition system operated by the Ugandan military. SkyStriker is designed to locate and strike targets by crashing into them.

The leaked material indicates that the relationship extended beyond individual weapons systems, with Elbit involved in developing drone bases, communications infrastructure, maintenance capabilities, and systems designed to process intelligence collected by the aircraft.

Uganda's possession of Hermes 900 drones became publicly known in February 2022 after Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the son of President Yoweri Museveni and Uganda's current military chief, posted footage showing Ugandan soldiers alongside the aircraft.

The drone was later identified by defense publication Janes as an Elbit Hermes 900, describing it at the time as a previously undocumented Ugandan capability. A United Nations report subsequently identified a Ugandan-marked drone that crashed in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in August 2024 as an Elbit-manufactured Hermes 900.

The documents indicate that Uganda's drone program began before its public disclosure. A September 2021 Elbit pricing document described a $16.1 million package involving two new Hermes 900 aircraft, maintenance for a Hermes 450 already in Uganda, ground-control systems, training, and logistical support. Additional maintenance and spare-parts provisions brought the stated value to $18.4 million.

Other records indicate that Elbit supplied Uganda with a refurbished Hermes 450 in 2019, followed by two additional refurbished systems in 2020 and 2021.

Under a subsequent agreement, the company was also expected to provide additional Hermes 900 and Hermes 450 aircraft while upgrading control trailers and communications systems.

The archive also contains an internal Elbit management presentation from January 2022 referring to preparations for weapons drops in Uganda, including the Lizard 3 system, subject to pandemic-related restrictions.

Lizard 3 is a laser-guidance kit developed by Elbit to convert general-purpose bombs into precision-guided weapons.

The documents further describe plans to establish additional ground infrastructure for Uganda's Hermes fleet, including equipment designed to automate drone takeoffs and landings, as well as spare-parts packages to support the expansion of drone bases.