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Israel Aerospace Industries, one of the country’s biggest defense companies, is positioning its Arrow missile defense system for deployment in the US, responding to President Donald Trump’s executive order mandating the creation of an American defense shield, IAI CEO Boaz Levy told Semafor.
The Arrow system — co-developed with the US Missile Defense Agency — is the backbone of Israel’s air defense against long-range threats. It successfully intercepted hundreds of Iranian missiles in April and October, demonstrating real-world effectiveness.
“We believe President Trump means he needs something Arrow-like, and we see this as an opportunity to work together in America,” Levy said in an interview in Abu Dhabi. “We are improving our capabilities, and we have a lot of lessons learned” after the Iranian attacks.
Beyond the US, IAI is open to selling Arrow and other air defense systems to the UAE and potentially other Gulf countries, contingent on normalization agreements and approval from Washington, given its role in developing the technology.
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The Arrow system, developed over decades, consists of multiple layers: Arrow 2 for medium- to long-range threats and Arrow 3 that can destroy ballistic missiles outside Earth’s atmosphere.
Gulf countries facing similar threats to Israel are interested in the system, he said: 80% of IAI’s sales are to customers outside of Israel. The barrage of missiles launched by Iran at Israel set a precedent.
“Nobody thought that a leader would launch 200 ballistic missiles on a populated area, but the Iranians did,” Levey said. “If they did it in Israel, someone else can do it somewhere in the world. So [leaders] need to find solutions” to protect their territory from similar attacks.
IAI’s backorders hit $25 billion in November, and revenue was $5.3 billion in 2023. War-time spending boosted net income 74% in the first nine months of 2024 to $416 million. Germany agreed to buy the Arrow 3 system for $3.5 billion in 2023.
Notable
- Israel’s air-defense strategy includes many systems to intercept rockets, drones, and ballistic missiles, explains The Wall Street Journal.
- Experts question whether Trump’s order for an Iron Dome-style system is feasible for the US, The New York Times reports.