But in the long term, Israel, in a situation of almost permanent war since 1948, benefits from its own geopolitical situation.
The public group IAI defends its ability to adapt through the need to defend its own territory. “Each war brings new competencies, new capabilities and we must not allow ourselves to be surprised,” said Boaz Levy, its president.
Yuval Steinitz, head of Rafael, the other giant of the Israeli defense industry, highlighted for his part that his group annually allocates up to 5 billion shekels (1.2 billion euros, 1.3 billion dollars) to research. “We have always been in an arms race with our enemies, this is something we know how to manage,” he said.
In this regard, Rubin confirms that Israel exports “military systems developed for its own defense, based on the lessons of its recent wars and often already tested in combat.”
It remains to manage the adaptation between the needs of a very small country – Ukraine has an area 30 times larger – and the logic of the Western powers.
“The priority of Israel’s defense industry is to meet its strategic needs above all else. When these requirements differ from those of Europe, it is unlikely that significant adaptations will be made to meet export markets,” according to Chapman.