In a year of war, with combat challenges at home and political challenges abroad, including the banning of firms from leading international exhibitions, Israel’s defense industry achieved a new record in defense exports in 2024: $14.795 billion, up about 11.7% from 2023 and double the amount five years ago, the Ministry of Defense reports.
The main engine of demand was Europe, where defense budgets have increased due to the Russia-Ukraine war, and the proportion of Israel’s defense exports has jumped from 35% to 54%. An intriguing increase during the war has been in the Abraham Accords countries, which, after falling from 24% to only 3% in 2023, jumped again to 12% in 2024. In contrast, a sharp, substantial decline was recorded in Asia-Pacific, the largest destination until last year, from 48% to 23%.
“There is difficulty in Asia-Pacific, but even there we are making an effort to adapt ourselves to the markets,” says Ministry of Defense International Defense Cooperation Directorate (SIBAT) head Brig. Gen. (res.) Yair Kulas. The ministry explains the challenge in Asia, similar to other markets, including the US and Europe, by the demand for local production. Currently, the policy of India (Israel’s largest defense export destination) and other countries is that as part of deals, they will receive knowhow, and some production will be carried out there. “We understood that we needed to allow our industries to be relevant, because even in NATO tenders a local subsidiary is required.”
Another record was achieved in the amounts of deals, with for the first time ever, more than half of the deals worth $100 million or more. According to SIBAT, there was a jump last year from 40% to 56.8% in transactions in this range. At the same time, 17.4% of the total deals came from small transactions of up to $10 million, 16.3% in the range of $10-50 million, and the rest were in the range of $50-100 million. “We advocate a policy of fighting for every deal,” Kulas stresses. “Even if it is a small system and a limited market, we work to be there.”
The main driver of deals is G2G (government to government). Israel’s major clients like Greece, prefer G2G due to the government umbrella of the deal and the ability to work in one transaction with several Israeli industries. Thus, total G2G transactions of the Ministry of Defense with its counterparts around the world reached a record of $6.7 billion. This means that 45% of Israeli defense exports last year were led by the Ministry of Defense.
Air defense leads demand
The war has created a major challenge for Israel’s defense industries. Companies must supply Israel’s defense needs, sometimes at the expense of delaying deliveries to customers abroad, or if possible doubling and sometimes even more the number of production lines. At the same time, the war increased demand for products even more because they are “combat tested” – proven on the battlefield.
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“The combination of industries, IDF and Ministry of Defense is attractive in the world,” says Kulas. “When engineers in industries serve in the reserves and then return to development, this is unique to Israel. This brings about an increase in global demand.”
Global demand is led by air defense systems, especially due to the Russia-Ukraine war, which has seen widespread use of missiles, and above all drones. Israel’s success in dealing with the unprecedented Iranian attacks in April and October last year has positioned its defense industry as a focus for growing international demand in the field, and this is also reflected in SIBAT data. About 48% of Israeli defense exports in 2024 were air defense systems. That is, almost equal to all other Israeli deals combined. In 2023, for comparison, air defense systems accounted for “only” 36% of the volume of deals. The growth in both the proportion of large deals ($100 million or more) and the proportion of air defense systems out of the total is evident in Israel’s major deals in the field, most notably the sale of the Arrow 3 by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) to Germany in 2023 for $3.5 billion, and the sale of David’s Sling to Finland for about $360 million.
The 2024 figures do not reflect the international interest in the laser-based air defense system Iron Beam. Development is being led by the Ministry of Defense Directorate of Defense, Research and Development (DDR&D) (MAFAT) and Rafael. Iron Beam Kulas says, “Arouses interest, and has potential. However, with every system we produce, or in development, we understand that we must protect the systems. Therefore, we carefully choose our customers.”
Areas in which IAI stands out are satellites and space, as well as radar and electronic warfare, which each accounted for 8% of the exports. In July 2024, IAI reportedly sold satellites to Morocco, a country in the Abraham Accords, for about $1 billion. A worrying trend can be seen in drones and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). In 2022, these accounted for about 25% of total deals, while in 2023 they fell to only 4% – and this year they have so far accounted for only 1%.
Last November, Elbit announced that it had won contracts worth $335 million to supply Hermes 900 UAVs and defense systems to a European country. The contracts, which will be carried out over three and a half years, also include the supply of PULS rocket launchers. Weapons, launchers ammunition and armaments accounted for about 2% of exports and about 3% of total revenue last year.
The challenges following the war
The first half of 2025 is about to end, and despite the encouraging data, SIBAT’s head admits they are facing a great challenge. “The images from Gaza and the accusations in The Hague are having an impact. This intensifies the Ministry’s challenge, and we have to see how we can cope.”
Another difficulty lies in supply chains – a challenge that began during the Covid pandemic and has worsened during the war due to the effects of Houthi attacks on shipping lanes and their missile launches, which lead to the intermittent shutdown of Ben Gurion airport.
Kulas says that the war has highlighted the advantages of Israel’s defense firms, which had not been previously evident on the global market: “Over the years, countries have sought quality and price, and in recent years another key factor has entered where Israeli industries have an advantage – and that is speed of delivery. If a rival comes and gives a delivery time of seven years, our companies come with 2-3 years and they take it. They succeed in this despite the challenges of the war.”
Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on June 4, 2025.
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2025.
