Israeli arms sales reached a new record in 2022, for the second consecutive year, amounting to double the number of exports compared to around a decade ago, according to Defense Ministry figures released last week.

The Arrow 3 missile defense system (Photo: Israeli Defense Ministry)

The ministry’s International Defense Cooperation Directorate (SIBAT), said defense exports totaled $12.5 billion last year, up from $11.4 billion in 2021 — the previous record high. Between 2011 and 2016, that number hovered between $5.6 billion and $7.5 billion.  Ministry officials noted that the overall number of government-to-government arms sales had increased tenfold over the past five years, reaching over $4 billion, compared to $412 million in 2018. Israel is in the midst of a potential $4.3 billion sale of its Arrow 3 anti-ballistic missile system to Germany.

Officials cited “geostrategic changes in Europe” as the reason for the sharp increase in demand for Israeli-made weapons, referring to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Officials also said there had been a significant demand for Israeli weapons by Arab nations that recently normalized ties with Israel. The United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco, which normalized relations with Israel in 2020 in the framework of the imperialist agreements known as the “Abraham Accords”, accounted for 24% of the arms purchases — up from 7% in 2021. The Asia-Pacific region was the largest purchaser of Israeli defense goods, buying 30% of total exports, followed by Europe at 29%.

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and drones made up the largest chunk of exports at 25% — up from 9% in 2021 — followed by missiles, rockets, and air defense systems at 19%. Exports of radar and electronic warfare systems amounted to 13% of arms sales.

Related: https://maki.org.il/en/?p=30216