The export of Israel’s military equipment reached an all-time high of 12.55 billion U.S. dollars in 2022, as confirmed by Israel’s Defense Ministry on Wednesday.
2022 marked the second consecutive year of record-breaking defense agreements, reflecting a remarkable surge of 50 percent in Israel’s export of military equipment over the past three years.
Last year, around 120 Israeli companies inked “hundreds” of new sales deals, with approximately half of them exceeding the 100 million dollar mark.
An interesting development was the significant increase in military equipment exports to the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco, following the signing of the Abraham Accords in 2020, which normalized diplomatic ties with Israel. These countries alone accounted for 3 billion dollars in military equipment exports.
In the international market, there was a notable focus on reconnaissance and attack drones, with one-fourth of the signed deals dedicated to these advanced technologies.
Missiles, rockets, and air defense systems constituted 19 percent of Israel’s military equipment exports, while radar systems held a share of 13 percent. Observation equipment and optronics made up 10 percent, intelligence, information, and cyber systems contributed 6 percent each, and communication systems accounted for 6 percent of the total sales. Manned aircraft and avionics represented 5 percent, followed by weapon stations and launchers at 5 percent. The remaining percentage encompassed exports of vehicles, ammunition, armaments, maritime systems, and services.
Eyal Zamir, the Director General of the Defense Ministry, emphasized that the escalating global instability has significantly heightened the demand for Israeli air defense systems, drones, UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles), and missiles.