Israel’s defense exports surged to a new all-time record in 2025, reaching US$19.2 billion despite widespread boycott calls, the exclusion of Israeli firms from several international arms exhibitions, and some negative global sentiment.
Notably, Israeli defense exports surged nearly 30% in 2025, led by its battle-tested missiles, rockets, and air defense systems.
Furthermore, Israel’s defense exports have increased for the fifth consecutive year, underscoring the high demand for Israeli weapons systems in the international market, according to Defense Ministry figures released on June 2.
The ministry’s International Defense Cooperation Directorate, known as SIBAT, said defense exports totaled nearly US$19.2 billion in 2025, up from US$14.8 billion in 2024, the previous record high. Earlier in 2023, Israel had exported arms and ammunition worth US$13 billion.
According to the global arms transfer database compiled by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Israel was already the world’s seventh-largest arms exporter during 2021–2025, accounting for 4.4% of global major arms exports.
Since Israel’s defense exports rose by 30% in 2025, its share of global arms exports is set to rise further.
What makes Israel’s rising defense exports even more noteworthy is the fact that the country has been in a constant state of warfare since the October 2023 terror attacks.
However, despite fighting a multi-front war, Israeli defense firms have not only fulfilled domestic requirements but have also met all international obligations. In parallel, they have secured a significant number of new defense contracts, demonstrating the continued global confidence in their reliability and ability to deliver under pressure.
This stands in stark contrast to Russia, whose defense exports have collapsed by as much as 92% amid the Ukraine War.
The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) found that Russian arms exports decreased by half between 2019 and 2023 compared with the previous five-year period. Other estimates have painted an even starker picture. According to The Jamestown Foundation, Russia’s arms exports dropped by 92 percent from 2021 to 2024 due to the redirection of resources to Ukraine, sanctions, inflation, and funding issues.
Furthermore, Israeli exports have risen despite multiple arms exhibitions barring Israeli defense firms, and calls for a boycott of Israeli goods and weapons systems.
In fact, on June 2, France barred Israeli government officials from participating in Europe’s biggest defense show – Eurosatory defense exhibition, prohibited the country from opening a national pavilion, and restricted its arms makers from exhibiting offensive weapons. The defense exhibition will run from June 15-19 in Paris.
Israeli defense firms have faced restrictions at some major European defense exhibitions in recent years, particularly in France.
Earlier, the French government barred Israeli defense firms from the 2024 edition of Eurosatory and the Paris Air Show in 2025. Israeli firms were also denied participation in NEDS (Netherlands Defense Exposition and Symposium) in Europe. The UAE banned Israeli defense firms from participating in IDEX 2025 (International Defense Exhibition).
Similarly, in 2025, Spain canceled its defense deals with Israel worth over $1 billion.
Madrid canceled a contract worth nearly US$825 million to purchase 12 SILAM rocket launcher systems, derived from the PULS platform made by Israeli firm Elbit Systems; another contract for 168 anti-tank missile launchers; and a US$207 million deal to purchase the Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Litening 5 system.
Spain framed these measures aimed at halting what Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has called “the genocide in Gaza.”
Similarly, in August 2025, Slovenia banned all arms trade with Israel, including transit, imports, and exports, becoming the first EU country to impose a full embargo.
However, despite these boycotts, Israel’s rising arms exports clearly establish that its defense exports are insulated from its rising criticism and isolation at the global stage due to its ongoing wars in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran, and allegations of human rights abuse and even genocide.
“This is the highest figure ever recorded and the fifth consecutive year in which a new record was set for Israel’s defense exports,” the Israeli defense ministry said.
Which Israeli Weapons are in Demand
According to data from SIBAT, approximately US$10 billion, about half of total exports, came from government-to-government (GTG) deals. These deals stand out for their shift timelines and minimal bureaucracy. In such deals, the Israeli defense firms serve only as subcontractors.
For instance, the Arrow 3 deal was signed between the Israeli and German governments, with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) serving as a subcontractor.
“The historic record in government-to-government (GTG) deals — approximately US$10 billion — is not only an economic figure; it reflects the deepening of strategic partnerships and the growing international trust that the Ministry has built with defense ministries around the world,” the statement added.
“Missile, rocket, and air defense systems continued to lead in 2025, accounting for over a quarter (29%) of total deal volume,” according to the ministry. In contrast, missile, rocket, and air defense systems made up 48 percent of deals in 2024 and 36 percent in 2023.
The ministry said that deals for observation and optronics systems rose to 22 percent in 2025, up from 6 percent the previous year.
Radar and electronic warfare systems made up 11 percent of exports in 2025, similar to the previous year’s 10 percent.
Among other systems, manned aircraft and avionics accounted for 11%, C4I and communication systems 7%, weapon stations and launchers 6%, drones and UAVs 4%, satellites and space systems 3%, vehicles and APCs 2%, intelligence, information, and cyber systems 2%, maritime systems and platforms 2%, and ammunition and armaments 1%.”
The Markets For Israeli Weapons
According to the data, Europe is the largest market for Israeli arms exports, accounting for as much as 36% of Israel’s defense exports. In 2024, Europe accounted for 54% of Israeli arms exports, and for 35% in 2023.
In 2025, European states bought Israeli military products worth nearly US$5.6 billion, compared to US$8 billion in 2024 and US$4.6 billion in 2023, according to the Ministry of Defense.
Notably, Israel is the largest arms exporter to Germany and the second-largest to the UK. According to SIPRI, from 2021 to 2025, Israel supplied 55% of Germany’s arms imports and nearly 8.2% of the UK’s.
In 2023, Germany signed a historic US$3.8 billion deal with Israel for the Arrow 3 missile defense system, marking the largest defense deal in Israeli history.
After Europe, the Asia-Pacific region remained the second-most important market for Israeli weapons. In 2025, the Asia-Pacific region accounted for 32 % of Israeli weapons exports, up from 23% in 2024.
However, in value terms, sales to the Asia-Pacific region alone nearly doubled, from around US$3.4 billion in 2024 to US$6.1 billion in 2025.
In Asia, India is a big market for Israeli weapons. According to the SIPRI database, India was the world’s second-largest arms importer from 2021 to 2025, behind Ukraine. And Israel was the third-largest arms exporter to India after Russia and France.
Israel supplied 15 % of all Indian arms imports during this period.
However, India remains the biggest market for Israeli weapons exports.
According to SIPRI, between 2021 and 2025, India absorbed 29% of all Israeli weapons exports, ahead of Germany at 21% and the US at 7.8%.
Israel was also the second-largest arms exporter to the Philippines, supplying 20% of its weapons needs.
However, the biggest surprise was the rising Israeli arms sales in the Arab countries.
Israeli Arms In the Middle East
In 2025, as much as 15% of Israeli weapons exports went to the Middle East, up from 12% in 2024. In 2023, the share of these countries in Israeli arms exports was a mere 3 %.
In value terms, Israel exported weapons worth US$2.88 billion to the Middle East in 2025, up from US$1.77 billion in 2024.
Nearly 13 percent of Israeli weapons went to North America, up from 9% in 2024.
War In Gaza Boosting Israeli Exports
Unlike Russia, where arms exports have collapsed due to the ongoing war, in Israel, the ongoing war seems to be helping the country’s arms exports.
“The unprecedented operational achievements, along with the combat experience gained by Israeli developments during the war, created high demand for Israeli technology among many countries,” the ministry said.
Notably, several of Israel’s weapons systems saw their first combat during the recent wars Israel fought in the Middle East, including the Arrow 3 and Barak naval systems, as well as the deployment of new systems such as laser air defenses.
The Israeli Ministry of Defense also noted that Israel’s defense industries have been operating “round-the-clock production for the IDF while simultaneously fulfilling contracts for foreign clients.”
Israel’s Defense Minister, Israel Katz, said the exports demonstrate confidence in Israel’s defense establishment.
“These achievements are built on the IDF’s capabilities and those of our broader security forces – in Gaza, Lebanon, Iran, and Yemen,” he said.
- Nitin J Ticku holds a double master’s degree in Journalism and Business Management from the University of Glasgow. He has over 20 years of global experience in MARCOM, Journalism, and Digital Marketing, and has worked & traveled widely across Europe, the Americas, and Asia. Nitin is the Editor of the EurAsian Times.
- He can be reached at editor (at) eurasiantimes.com
