SIPRI places Israel at 8th out of 67 countries; Increase of 50% in arms exports in the past five years.
Israel was the world’s 8th largest arms importer in 2018 according to a report released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). The institute’s report reflects the volume of deliveries of arms using data from 67 countries and its weapon sales. The data is compared to prior years and gives percentages and ranks based on total arms exports.
The SIPRI report claims Israel’s arms exports increased by 50% in the past 5 years and 60% over the past decade. Israel’s main clients for arms sales have been India at 45% of sales, Azerbaijan at 17% and Vietnam at 8.5%. Israeli companies like Elbit Systems Ltd. ranked 28th, followed by the Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. at 41st and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. at 45th in comparison to other global government and private sales.
Israel’s Defense Ministry and security agencies do not reveal details on arms or military equipment deals or exports, specifically information on countries and governments. The Defense Ministry reported a 41% increase in weapon sales from 2016-2017, a historic accomplishment by the Jewish state of over $9.2 billion.
The Middle East has the most arms exports of any other region, the report citing Saudi Arabia as the leading exporter followed by India and Egypt. The region saw an 87% increase in arms exports in the past 4 years.
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