Israeli arms sales break record for 5th year in row, reaching $19.2 billion in 2025 |
Annual Israeli arms sales reached a new record in 2025, for the fifth consecutive year, up nearly 30 percent compared to the previous year, according to Defense Ministry figures released Tuesday.
The ministry’s International Defense Cooperation Directorate, known as SIBAT, said defense exports totaled nearly $19.2 billion last year, up from $14.8 billion in 2024 — the previous record high.
Sales to the Asia-Pacific region alone nearly doubled, from around $3.4 billion in 2024 to $6.1 billion last year.
The rise in arms deals comes after Defense Ministry Director-General Amir Baram last year approved a series of reforms to boost Israel’s defense exports, including a “significant easing” in the licensing process and a “substantial expansion” of the list of permitted countries for export.
Government-to-government (G2G) sales made up more than half of exports in 2025, amounting to around $10 billion. Over half of the total exports, 53%, were in deals worth over $100 million, the ministry said.
Despite some governments, especially in Western Europe, canceling weapon deals with Israel or sanctioning Israeli defense firms — including barring them from defense expos — over the war in the Gaza Strip, ministry officials said they were still seeing a high demand for Israeli weapons from Europe.
On Monday, the Defense Ministry said France had barred Israel from participating in the Eurosatory defense exhibition in Paris, preventing the ministry from establishing a national pavilion or sending government representatives to one of the world’s leading forums for arms sales.
The move followed similar bans on Israeli companies displaying offensive arms at French defense shows in recent years.
Officials also expressed concerns that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had boosted competition for Israel’s arms industry, providing another real-life proving ground for weapons systems, and said the strength of the shekel had also hampered exports.
Nonetheless, the ministry said that the “unprecedented operational achievements” during........