New Delhi: Israel’s defence exports rose by 30 percent in 2025, compared to the previous year, with missiles and air defence systems accounting for over 29 percent of the increase, the Israeli Ministry of Defence (IMOD) said Tuesday. It added that the country’s overall defence exports crossed the $19-billion threshold for the first time, surpassing the 2024 record of $14.8 billion and marking a fifth consecutive year of record defence exports.
At 36 percent, Europe accounted for the highest percentage of Israeli defence exports. This, despite friction with some European partners. For instance, Israel said Tuesday that it would stop all defence procurement from France after French authorities barred Israeli firms and representatives from taking part in the Eurosatory defence exhibition in Paris.
Data released by the IMOD also revealed that Israel’s defence exports to the Asia-Pacific region nearly doubled to $6.1 billion in 2025 from about $3.4 billion the previous year.
According to it, Israel’s export of observation and optronics systems surged by 22 percent in 2025, as against 6 percent in 2024. Other Israeli defence exports mentioned in the IMOD report included radar and Electronic Warfare (EW), manned aircraft and avionics, C4I and communication systems, weapon stations and launchers, drones and UAVs, satellites and space systems, vehicles and armoured personnel carriers (APCs), intelligence, information and cyber systems, maritime systems and platforms and ammunition and armaments.
“There is a clear and unmistakable thread connecting the Israel Defence Forces’ battlefield achievements across all fronts, the extraordinary capabilities of Israel’s defence industries, and the success of Israeli defence exports around the world,” Defence Minister Israel Katz said, after reviewing the annual defence exports report released by IMOD.
Katz added: “Defence exports are a mirror of Israeli strength, ingenuity, and the ability to think differently. The growing export figures reinforce Israel’s position as a leading defence-technology power, but they also carry a responsibility: to keep innovating, to keep raising the bar, and above all to continue delivering for the IDF’s operational needs during wartime, while meeting rising demand from partners around the world.”
According to the report, 2025 also set an all-time record for government-to-government (GTG) defence agreements signed by Israel, totaling approximately $10 billion and accounting for over half of total deal volume.
The report also mentioned that Israeli defence industries’ contracts rose to $19.2 billion in 2025. Over 53 percent of these deals were mega-deals, each valued at $100 million or more. Another 13 percent ranged between $50-100 million, while 19 percent of the agreements ranged between $10-50 million and another 15 percent up to $10 million.
According to the report, the surge in defence exports came after a set of reforms introduced by Defence Minister Katz and Major General (Res.) Amir Baram, Director General of the IMOD. These included opening new markets, expanding strategic partnerships with a range of countries, and significant easing of export licensing policies, alongside the strengthening of oversight mechanisms to protect classified assets and defence secrets, the report mentioned.
The continuing increase in Israel’s defence exports comes against the backdrop of its military campaigns since the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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