Some 30 Israeli defense companies are presenting their systems and solutions in Paris this week at the Eurosatory 2016 international air, land, defense and security exhibition. In the wake of last year's Paris terror attacks and the Orlando massacre over the weekend, which was claimed by ISIS, European governments are opening their wallets and Israel's security wares and in many instances exactly what they need.
With Israel's real-time experiences in fighting terrorism, Israeli companies are attracting major attention in Paris. Israel Military Industries Ltd. (IMI Systems) president and CEO Avi Felder told "Globes," "Europe is recovering and Israeli industry is feeling this in terms of the volume of orders and the level of interest by many countries in new and advanced weapons systems. In many European capitals, the threat of terrorism has changed awareness and sharpened the need for new and appropriate means as part of their preparations for extreme scenarios. First and foremost this is expressed in defense budgets that are getting bigger and bigger."
Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. EVP marketing and business development Giora Katz said, "According to the indications we are getting from the market since last year, it is recovering substantially. Countries in certain regions in the world are readying themselves anew and are inclined to close the gaps that have been created in recent years in order to move ahead and respond to current threats."
After long years of widespread cuts in defense budgets of European countries, the trend has reversed and this was demonstrated in Israel's defense exports in 2015. As recently as the middle of last year, senior executives in Israel's defense industry and top figures in the Defense Ministry were concerned about a ten-year low point in Israeli defense exports. But then European defense ministries appeared "to wake up" due to the flood of refugees and the terror attacks in France. A flurry of procurements by the Europeans changed the picture of Israel's defense exports so that by the end of 2015, Israel's defense exports totaled $5.7 billion, up slightly from $5.6 billion in 2014, and defense exports to Europe alone last year were about $1.6 billion.
SIBAT - the International Defense Cooperation Directorate of the Israel Ministry of Defense director Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Mishel Ben Baruch told "Globes" "There is no ceiling to Israeli defense exports to Europe, which is threatened by terror and knows that Israeli companies have appropriate and specially designed systems. And they are turning to us. Israel is a unique laboratory for developing unique proven defense and security solutions, most of which have already been successfully tried out in the battlefield and Europe knows this."
Increased sales
Elbit Systems Ltd. (Nasdaq: ESLT; TASE: ESLT) is among the companies that reported a rise in sales to the European market last year due to expanded government budgets. These included: advanced communications systems to a western European country; advanced unmanned aerial vehicles to Switzerland; and setting up a pilots' training school for the Royal Air Force in the UK.
"The Europeans want to equip themselves and the demand which is rising has certain characteristics," a senior source at one of the defense companies said. "It's less a story of equipping planes, tanks and armored personnel carriers, and more a case of light and mobile components such as systems for gathering intelligence that covers specific border regions that don't have fences or physical obstacles. These means are in demand especially because of the wave of refugees that is flooding Europe."
Israeli companies want to take advantage of the momentum and sell more to the Europeans. The large Israeli companies are selling concepts comprised of a range of media integrated into amalgamated systems for gathering intelligence, providing deterrents, protection and attack; short-range missile defense system Iron Dome has presented a naval version; lethal means for special and intervention forces that can be moved swiftly; the means to protect borders such as advanced robot and unmanned vehicles that can open fire. Then there is the biggest hit of the year - special systems for identifying and neutralizing drones - those flying toys available in the stores at such a reasonable price for everybody including terrorists and must be treated as a potentially effective weapon and tool for gathering intelligence.
IAI's Land Systems Staff head Maj. Gen. (res.) Gadi Shamni said, 'The systems that IAI offers present a range of capabilities for coping with terror and improving the feeling of personal security - these are topics that are at the center of the world's attention these days. Intelligence means, many sensors, and broadband communications systems allow various forces to deploy and be ready swiftly and get a grip during an event. UAVs and drones also make a vital contribution in these situations."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on June 13, 2016
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