Arms exports register substantial growth

AA / Jerusalem / Abdel Raoub Arnaud

Israel has recorded a significant increase in arms sales to various countries.

The Haaretz newspaper on Tuesday quoted the Defense Ministry’s International Defense Cooperation Directorate as saying that the volume of Israeli military and defense exports was 30 percent last year.

“Israeli defense industries announced new contracts worth a total of $11.3 billion in 2021, up from about $8.6 billion in 2020. The year isn’t over yet, but it appears to be on track for particularly high sales volumes and a long list of important ones. Defense contracts, the Defense Ministry’s Export Control Agency, compared to previous years. We read from the same source, though only a relatively small number of transactions are recognized.

Based on data obtained through the Defense Department’s Export Control Agency, the newspaper reported, “As of September last year, the agency said it had approved fewer than 4,000 sales contracts, compared with 6,000 contracts in 2020 and 5,400 in 2021.”

“There were two main reasons for the increase in sales: the Abraham Accords, which paved the way for new diplomatic relations with countries in the Arab world two years ago, and the war in Ukraine,” the same source further pointed out. Normalization agreements signed by Israel with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco have significantly boosted exports to countries in the region.

The Israeli newspaper noted that last year saw a record in military exports, with the Arab Gulf countries accounting for 7% of total sales.

In this context, the newspaper pointed out that “in recent months, Israel has been selling advanced Barak and Spider air defense systems to the United Arab Emirates, while Morocco has signed a contract for its own Barak interceptor systems.” .

The growing threat of Iranian drones, including on battlefields in Ukraine, and the large-scale airstrikes conducted by Russia there highlight the success of Israeli air defense systems, especially since they were triggered. Interest in Europe to purchase these systems.

“The issue of air defense is very central, as it includes defense against missiles and aircraft as well as large and small drones,” said Boaz Levy, CEO of Israel’s Aerospace Industries, newspaper.

“It’s been a good year. We’ve seen a $3.6 billion increase in total sales in the first nine months (of this year), which means we’re close to $5 billion in 2022. That’s a huge achievement,” Levy added in his company’s quarterly newsletter. Financial statements.

Levy in Bahrain, countries in our region are starting to cooperate with Israel, which is a win-win situation.

“This is the first time we are officially coming to the Bahrain Air Show with an Israeli pavilion: and under the banner of Israel Aerospace Industries,” he said.

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said several months ago that in the past two years since the Abraham Accords, Israel has signed $3 billion worth of defense export deals with countries in the region.

*Translated from Arabic by Vejdan Jalasi

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