The Israeli military industry has been the big beneficiary of the normalization of relations with Arab countries since 2020. The Israeli Ministry of Defense announced that defense exports totaled 12.5 billion dollars (MM$) in 2022, against $11.4 billion in 2021, several Hebrew media report. Before the signing of the Abraham Accords, this amount fluctuated between $5.6 and $7.5 billion.
Notably, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco accounted for 24% of all weapons sold by Israel last year, compared to 7% in 2021, the same sources add. On the other hand, the North American market stands at 11% of sales, compared to 12% in 2021. Exports to Europe have fallen considerably, representing only 29% of sales, whereas, in 2021, the Old Continent monopolized 41%, that is to say the first destination of exports.
In November 2021 in Rabat, Morocco and Israel signed a memorandum of military cooperation. A bilateral framework enabled the Royal Armed Forces to order, in February 2022, for 500 million dollars (M$) the Barak MX anti-aircraft and anti-missile defense system, manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), the company public chaired by Amir Peretz. The FAR has already acquired the Israeli “Skylock Dome” anti-drone defense system and ordered a batch of Israeli Harop-type drones, also called kamikaze unmanned aircraft, from IAI for $22 million. The year 2023 should follow the same trend.