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Israel’s defense sector was out in full force for IDEX 2023. (Breaking Defense/ Ashley Roque)

IDEX 2023 — The Abraham Accords of 2020 opened up some of the Middle East region to Israel, and at this year’s International Defense Expo in Abu Dhabi, Israeli defense companies were on the floor taking advantage of the opportunity to foster their budding relationships with potential partners and buyers in the Gulf.

More than 60 Israeli firms attended IDEX 2023, according to exhibit listings, meaning the small nation had about as many firms there as China. (But much fewer than the US.)

Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco first issued joint statements normalizing diplomatic relationships in 2020. By formalizing those political ties, Israel’s defense firms have an official avenue for pitching capabilities like air defense weapons, instead of the past low-profile discussions.

“There is a very big difference between a mistress and a real wife,” quipped retired Brig. Gen. Ariel Karo, Rafael’s executive vice president for marketing and business development, during a Feb. 22 interview with Breaking Defense. “[Israel] knows how to deal with the same threats, the same weapon systems, the same doctrines, the same capabilities of the other side, and… therefore, here the neighborhood is really, really eager to [buy] Israeli systems.”

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Within Israel’s pavilion, UAE officials wandered through Israel’s Ministry Defense stand, which also houses 15 smaller defense entities. Larger firms like Rafael, Israel Aerospace Industries and Elbit also have their own respective displays, welcoming frequent stops from regional officials to discuss topics like air defense capabilities. 

For example, Rafael, which announced a new office in the UAE ahead of IDEX 2023, is showcasing two main capabilities here — its newer SPYDER all-in-one, mobile ground-based air defense system, and its future 100 kW-class Iron Beam.

Both weapons are designed to defend the skies from incoming threats like unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and missiles, and are envisioned to be used independently or linked together to tackle varying threats. The company also displayed its Spike NLOS missile system.

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A Rafael NLOS system on display at IDEX 2023. (Lee Ferran / Breaking Defense)

Smaller and newer defense companies from Israel are also displaying capabilities in their independent booths, including UVision with its loitering munitions, SmartShooter with its SMASH line of fire control systems and Heven Drones. 

Bentzion Levinson, Heven Drones founder and CEO, spoke with Breaking Defense on Tuesday about his three-year-old company’s plans to enter the Arab market — one where he hopes the UAE is an avenue for growing his business, in part, through sales of the new H2D55 hydrogen-fueled drone.

“Obviously, it’s a total 180-degree change: Before the accords, it wasn’t possible to do business, in an open manner,” Levinson said. 

While this week’s ongoing event is an opportunity for companies to directly engage with potential customers, additional work is ongoing behind the scenes between Israel and its Arab neighbors and has been for some time. Part of those growing ties revolve around the Gulf Cooperation Council’s (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE) concerns about aerial threats from Iranian proxies. That concern stems in part from Tehran’s support for the Houthis in Yemen that has resulted in both Saudi Arabia and the UAE being hit by drones and rockets in recent years. 

Just days before the show, for example, members of the US-GCC gathered in Riyadh for a series of working group meetings related to Iran and regional air defenses. While such talks have been ongoing for years, part the evolving equation now includes Israel, which last year announced that it had joined with several other countries in the Middle East to form a new US-led joint air defense network, known as the Middle East Air Defense Alliance (MEAD), though it’s unclear how much that network has become a practical reality.

Stanley Brown, the US State Department’s principal deputy assistant secretary for the bureau of political-military affairs, told Breaking Defense on Monday that security discussions between Arab countries and Israel are ongoing.

“There have been very private discussions between countries, whether it’s on a bilateral or multilateral level. I can’t get into details of those,” he said. “But those kinds of things are being discussed in regard to how we can better cooperate furthering the Abraham Accords.”