Attendees from Abu Dhabi IDEX visited Israel Pavilion on February 18, 2025 during the Middle East’s largest defense expo
Natasha Turak | CNBC
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates – A record 34 Israeli companies exhibited at IDEX this week, the largest defense expo in the Middle East held a biennial by Abu Dhabi.
After fifteen months of devastating war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, amid a fragile and long-awaited ceasefire between two bitter enemies, arms manufacturers in Jewish states received at events Very positive. Expo.
“We feel very welcome and we feel at home here,” Boaz Levy, CEO of Israel Aviation Industries, a major state-owned aerospace and aviation manufacturer in Israel, told CNBC during the event.
“Hospitality, the visits from all our clients and the government here are very good, like any other show in the world.”
From major aerospace and heavy weapons manufacturers to smaller startups focusing on communications and surveillance technologies, the power of Israeli companies demonstrated the enthusiasm of the conference.
A large number of people talked to company representatives in the bustling museum around the display of Israeli drones and other battlefield technologies, and asked questions about the hardware. UAE and Saudis in local costumes and uniforms of UAE military personnel can also be seen talking to their Israeli counterparts and shaking hands enthusiastically.
The scene that plays within five days of the meeting is The UAE’s last major aerospace exhibition is in stark contrast This is the feature of Israel Defense Company. In November 2023, Dubai Biennial Airlines was held in just one month after the Israel-Hamas War began.
During the 2023 air show, there were only three Israeli defense companies – IAI, Elbit Systems and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems – the country’s gazebos were largely empty, representing reluctance to speak to CNBC or other press.
The Israel Aerospace Industry Pavilion was at Dubai in 2023 at Dubai Dubai International Airport (Al Maktoum International Airport) and Dubai on November 14, 2023 at Al Maktoum International Airport in the United Arab Emirates.
Natasha Turak | CNBC
Now, the mood has changed. The UAE and Israel normalize relations through the Abraham Agreement in 2020, and the daily flight between the two countries continues to trade and trade between the two countries despite Abu Dhabi condemning Israeli bombing on Gaza and the ensuing humanitarian disaster. maintain. Gaza’s population is homeless or displaced.
Company executives say IAI and Elbit Systems have marketing offices in the UAE, and now their country’s hardware has been combat-tested, with foreign buyers’ interests, including those in the Arab Gulf countries, higher than ever.
“We just prove that our system can survive, we prove that we can integrate many other payloads and adapt to the needs of the field,” Taly Kosberg Shmueli, deputy CEO of the Israel Aerostat Systems Company RT, told CNBC. “The past year, Our business is very happy.”
From January 16, 2025, the view of the Gaza Strip can be seen from the Israeli side of the border.
Amir Levy | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Shmueli said her company system – which provides giant balloons for command and control stations as well as surveillance and reconnaissance – has been used in the UAE, which has been talking to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain.
“We got a warm reception and many people just came here and said, ‘Oh, it’s nice to see the Israeli company here,'” Shmueli recalls. “We thought it was a very good relationship.”
Top 10 World Weapon Exporters
Arms sales are an important part of Israel’s economy and will be sold in 2023 Sipri said it hit a record $13 billion, a 36% increase from 2022, making the small country the ninth largest arms exporter in the world. According to local media reports, air defense systems account for more than one-third of these exports, with the world’s top buyers of Israeli weapons being India, followed by many countries in Europe, Southeast Asia and the United States. department.
In 2022, 24% of Israel’s arms exports to Arab partners Israel’s Defense Ministry said he normalized relations under the Abraham Agreement. The 2024 figures are not available yet.
For IAI, which builds Israel’s multi-layer missile defense infrastructure, including the Iron Dome and Arrow System, nearly 80% of its output is exported to other countries. Despite raising domestic production requirements due to the war, the company “did not impose any force majeure on any of our customers, but decided to provide them with the same strength” to achieve all delivery, said Levi, CEO of IAI.
Israel’s Iron Dome Anti-missile system intercepts rockets launched from the Gaza Strip, starting from October 20, 2023 with Ashkron in southern Israel.
Amir Cohen | Reuters
IAI Vice President Dror Bar also heads ELTA, a subsidiary of radar and electronic warfare systems, said Israel’s war in Gaza and Lebanon has driven the company to push its drone and anti-drone technologies to meet the needs of the modern battlefield.
“I think the slogans that have gone through the battle are achieved in the most dramatic way,” Barr said.
Representatives there said that, if anything, Israel’s war has now made its weapons products more popular among potential customers at events like IDEX.
“The reception was great,” Bell said of the Weapons Fair. “We were really natural, welcomed here, and we are part of this field in the world. So, naturally, we feel good in this environment.” …We are very grateful to the UAE government.”
