Italy orders Israeli companies removed from Rome airport counter-drone project

Italy's Council of State has mandated "Aeroporti di Roma" (ADR), the operator of Rome Fiumicino Airport, to replace the Israeli consortium managing the counter-drone defense system with Italian electronic warfare firm ELT (Elettronica S.p.A.). This decision removes two Israeli defense companies, Altintech and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, responsible for the Iron Dome air defense system, from a key civilian infrastructure project.

The move could elicit increased scrutiny beyond the procurement dispute, impacting a prominent Israeli defense stake in a major European airport. The ruling overturns a May 2024 decision by the Regional Administrative Court of Lazio, which had previously validated the contract with the Israeli consortium. ADR now has 60 days to finalize the ELT contract, and the court has directed the case file to the Rome Public Prosecutor's Office to assess potential criminal investigations into the procurement process.

The central issue in the judgment is the classification of the radar at Fiumicino as military equipment, as determined by Italian Ministry of Defense technical experts who cited its technical properties, ITAR classification, and registration in Italy's national registry of military equipment. The ruling highlights that the necessary authorizations for importing and operating such military material were absent.