SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             Washington, D.C. 20549
                              --------------------

                                    FORM 6-K
                        Report of Foreign Private Issuer
                        Pursuant to Rule 13a-16 or 15d-16
                     of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
                          For the Month of August 2005
                             -----------------------

                               ELBIT SYSTEMS LTD.
                 (Translation of Registrant's Name into English)
           Advanced Technology Center, P.O.B. 539, Haifa 31053, Israel
                    (Address of Principal Corporate Offices)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports
under cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F:

                  |X|        Form 20-F         |_|      Form 40-F

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as
permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1): |_|

Note: Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1) only permits the submission in paper of a
Form 6-K if submitted solely to provide an attached annual report to security
holders.

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as
permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7): |_|

Note: Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7) only permits the submission in paper of a
Form 6-K submitted to furnish a report or other document that the registrant
foreign private issuer must furnish and make public under the laws of the
jurisdiction in which the registrant is incorporated, domiciled or legally
organized (the registrant's "home country"), or under the rules of the home
country exchange on which the registrant's securities are traded, as long as the
report or other document is not a press release, is not required to be and has
not been distributed to the registrant's security holders, and, if discussing a
material event, has already been the subject of a Form 6-K submission or other
Commission filing on EDGAR.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant by furnishing the information
contained in this form is also thereby furnishing the information to the
Commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934:

                           |_| Yes      |X| No 

If "Yes" is marked, indicate below the file number assigned to the registrant in
connection with Rule 12g3-2(b): 82-______________








         Attached hereto as Exhibit 1 and incorporated herein by reference is
the Registrant's press release dated August 4, 2005.


                                    SIGNATURE
                                    ---------

         Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.


                                       ELBIT SYSTEMS LTD.
                                       (Registrant)


                                       By: /s/  Ilan Pacholder
                                          --------------------------------------
                                          Name:  Ilan Pacholder
                                          Title:  Corporate Secretary

Dated:  August 4, 2005






                                  EXHIBIT INDEX
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    EXHIBIT NO.            DESCRIPTION
    -----------            -----------

    1.                     Press release dated August 4, 2005.











                                   EXHIBIT 1


                                             [GRAPHIC OMITTED][GRAPHIC OMITTED]


       ELBIT SYSTEMS GROUP, TO RECEIVE A CONTRACT VALUED AT APPROXIMATELY
                   (pound)300 MILLION FOR THE UK WATCHKEEPER
                PROGRAMME, THROUGH ITS JV ESTABLISHED WITH THALES


Haifa, Israel, August 4 2005 - Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:  ESLT) reported today
that the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) and Thales UK have signed a contract worth
(pound)700  million for the Development,  Manufacture and Initial Support phases
of the  WATCHKEEPER  programme.  Elbit Systems and Thales UK are  establishing a
Joint Venture aimed at executing a significant part of the WATCHKEEPER programme
and addressing the rapidly growing UAV market worldwide.

The Elbit Systems  Group expects to receive a significant  part of the contract,
valued  at  around  (pound)300  million,  the  majority  being  executed  by the
Leicester-based  Joint Venture.  The Joint Venture's  contract is expected to be
signed this year.

WATCHKEEPER  will provide the UK armed  forces with an  essential  Intelligence,
Surveillance,  Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) capability based on
the unmanned air vehicle  (UAV) system Hermes 450 and will be a key component of
the UK's Network Enabled Capability (NEC).

This  programme  will  deliver  equipment,  training  and  facilities,  with the
capability coming into service from 2010.

WATCHKEEPER  will  provide  the UK Armed  Forces  with all weather day and night
surveillance in times of war, tension or during peace-keeping operations without
the need to deploy  troops  into  sensitive  areas or  harmful  situations.  The
WATCHKEEPER system can provide  continuous 24/7 surveillance when needed,  using
unmanned air vehicles able to stay airborne for more than 16 hours each.

The  WATCHKEEPER  system  consists of the WK450  unmanned  air vehicle  carrying
day/night  sensors and laser  target  designator  connected  by a data link to a
network of  containerised  Ground  Control  Stations  where army  operators will
control the whole mission and interface  within a network  enabled  environment.
High resolution  optical and radar imagery will be exploited and disseminated to
provide valuable intelligence for operational commanders.  The system is capable
of rapid  deployment  and  operations  anywhere in the world.  WATCHKEEPER  will
support the information  requirements of all three services and will be operated
by the Royal Artillery.




The President and CEO of Elbit Systems,  Joseph  Ackerman said: "We are proud to
take part in such a significant  programme,  led by Thales,  which is one of the
most prestigious UAV programmes in the world. Thales' teaming with Elbit Systems
testifies to our advanced  technological  systems capabilities and substantiates
our positioning as one of the leaders in the UAV market". Mr. Ackerman expressed
his hope that the joint  venture  established  by Elbit  Systems  and  Thales to
execute  the  WATCHKEEPER  programme  will  pave the way to  obtaining  more UAV
programmes in further markets in Europe and around the world.


ABOUT ELBIT SYSTEMS
-------------------
Elbit Systems Ltd. is an international  defense electronics company engaged in a
wide range of  defense-related  programs  throughout the world,  in the areas of
aerospace, land and naval systems, command, control, communications,  computers,
intelligence,  surveillance and reconnaissance ("C4ISR"), advanced electro-optic
and space  technologies.  The  company  focuses  on the  upgrading  of  existing
military  platforms and  developing  new  technologies  for defense and homeland
security applications.

ABOUT THALES UK
---------------
Thales UK's activities encompass defence, aerospace,  security and services. The
company is the UK's second  largest  defence  systems  contractor and has been a
supplier to the MoD since the First World War.  Thales  employs  10,000 staff in
the UK and 60,000  people in 50  countries.  In 2004,  Thales UK's revenues were
(pound)1.1bn

CONTACTS
--------

Company contact                                           IR Contacts
Ilan Pacholder, Corporate Secretary and                   Ehud Helft/Kenny Green
VP Finance & Capital Markets
Elbit Systems Ltd.                                        GK International
Tel:  972-4  831-6632                                     Tel: 1-866-704-6710
Fax: 972-4  831- 6659                                     Fax: 972-3-607-4711
pacholder@elbit.co.il                                     ehud@gk-biz.com
---------------------                                     ---------------
                                                          kenny@gk-biz.com

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