Israel is perhaps facing less security threat than anytime in the past in its 70-year history. Still, the Jewish state's defense industry is thriving with hi-tech weapons and capabilities attractive to global markets. Indeed, the peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan leave Israel battling with enemies who do not share its military might. A nuclear threat from Iran has been halted by an international treaty since 2015, and Syria is distracted by a seven-year bloody civil war. And still, Israel's defense industry is thriving, booming with hi-tech weapons and capabilities. Many innovations from Israeli defense firms are hits. That is because Israel is continuously on a state of alert, dealing with a decades long low-intensity conflict with the Palestinians, who do not have a traditional army, that has also created the need for solutions to new threats. Israel is "a country that was born in a war and since then has more or less never stopped being in a war," said Isaac Ben Israel, chairman of the Israel Space Agency and a retired military general. This is a fertile ground for immediate testing of weapons, said Gilad Alper, head of research at Excellence Nessuah Trust Company. Alper said that there is zero latency between the lab and the war zone in Israel, where the feedback from the soldiers on the ground is almost instantaneous. This advantage is huge and unique, Alper noted. "This is an ongoing improvement process that simply doesn't exist for other countries. They just don't have the know-how or the experience," Alper said. Israel's small population, approximately 8 million, coupled with mandatory military service for most citizens, means that everyone either has some extent of combat experience or knows someone who does. Israel is ranked 11th of the 20 biggest arms exporters in the world between 2011-2015, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), a rank that is disproportionate to Israel's size, one of the smallest in the world. It is a billion-dollar industry for the country that has managed to capitalize on its conflict-ridden history. This history has also resulted in a closely knitted network in which there is continuous flow of information and manpower between the military and civilian defense firms. "Made in Israel" is a good stamp to have when shopping in the defense sector. "The brand matters, but it is a result of those companies having close ties with the military and therefore always being able to develop something that works and is relevant to the modern battle ground," Alper said. Israel's small size is also a factor. "In its bordering countries alone there is 20 times the population of Israel," Ben Israel said. "This forced it to close the quantitative gap ... by making weapons that fit Israel exactly and give it an advantage to close that gap." Israel's quest for self-reliance came after a bitter lesson in politics was learned -- Franceimposed a weapons embargo on the Middle East during the 1967 War. It was a severe blow to the Jewish state. Fast-forward to decades later, Israel is today not only self-reliant on many critical weapons systems, but also a major exporter. Big Israeli firms in the industry do not specialize in one sub-sector but often span to various sub-categories in an attempt to reach a wider market. This has both a downside and an upside.
Jewish state's defense industry is thriving with hi-tech weapons and capabilities attractive to global markets Israel is continuously on state of alert, dealing with a decades long low-intensity conflict with the Palestinians a fertile ground for immediate testing of weapons Israel's 8 million means everyone either has some extent of combat experience or knows someone who does Israel's small size This forced it to close the quantitative gap ... by making weapons that fit Israel exactly Israel is today not only self-reliant on many critical weapons systems, but also a major exporter