Israeli weapons are referenced to force in the Defense Exhibition of Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates: a record of 34 Israeli companies exhibited in IDEX this week, the largest defense exhibition of the Middle East organized well organized by Abu Dhabi.

After fifteen months of a devastating war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, and in the middle of a high fragile and long -awaited fire between the two bitter enemies, the reception for weapons manufacturers of the Jewish state in the event was overwhelmingly positive, according to executives of the exhibition companies.

“We feel very welcome and we feel at home here,” Boaz Levy, CEO of Israel Aerospace Industries, the main state aviation manufacturer in Israel during the event, told CNBC.

“The hospitality, the visits of all our clients and the administration here were really good, and it is like any other show in the world.”

The sample of strength of Israeli companies, which went from the main manufacturers of aerospace and heavy weapons to new smaller companies focused on communications and surveillance technology, was found with visible enthusiasm of the conference attendees.

Large groups of ground people around the exhibitions of Israeli drones and other battlefield technologies, speaking with representatives of the company in the bustling pavilion and asking questions about the hardware. Emiratis and Saudi dressed in local outfits and Eau military personnel in uniform could also be seen talking and shaking their warm hand with their Israeli counterparts.

The scene, which took place during the five days of the conference, was A marked contrast of the last great aerospace exhibition in the EAU that presented Israeli defense companies. The Dubai Airshow Biennale in November 2023 was held only one month after the Israel-Ahamas war began.

During the 2023 air show, only three Israeli defense signatures were present: IAI, ELBIT systems and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, and the country’s pavilion was largely empty, with representatives who were not willing to speak with CNBC or other members of The press.

Now, mood is transformed. The EAU and Israel, who normalized relations through Abraham’s agreements in 2020, have continued exchanging and maintaining daily flights between the two countries despite the official statements of the Abu Dhabi government condemning Israel’s bombardment to Gaza and the posterior humanitarian catastrophe that has seen almost all of the totality. of the population of Gaza without home or displaced.

Israel’s attacks to Gaza since October 7 have killed more than 46,000 people there, authorities say in the enclave. The attacks led by Hamas that triggered the war killed about 1,200 Israelis, while more than 230 were taken as hostages, of which 66 remain in captivity. Of those 66, Israel has declared that 30 are dead. The exchanges of hostages and prisoners between the parties at war are in progress.

IAI and Elbit systems have marketing offices in the EAU, and now that the hardware of their country has been tested in battle, the interest of foreign buyers, including that of some countries of the Arab Gulf, is higher than ever, they said company executives.

“We have just demonstrated that our systems can survive, we show that we can integrate many other useful charges and adapt to the needs in the field,” Talk Kosberg Shmueli told CNBC, attached CEO of the Israeli RT aerostat systems company. “We are very happy in business, with the last year.”

Shmueli said that his company’s systems, giant balloons that provide command and control stations, as well as surveillance and recognition, are already in use in the EAU, and that the company has been in conversations with Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrein.

“We receive a warm reception and many people come here and say: ‘Oh, it is very good to see Israeli companies here,” Shmueli said. “We believe it is very good for relationships.”

In 2022, 24% of Israel’s weapons exports were for Arab partners Who had normalized relations under Abraham’s agreements, said Israeli Ministry of Defense. The figures for 2024 are not yet available.

For IAI, which builds the antimile defense infrastructure of multiple layers of Israel, including Iron Dome and Arrow systems, almost 80% of its production is exported to other countries. Despite having increased the national production requirements due to the war, the company “did not impose any major force for any of our clients, and made the decision to work in the same fortress for them” to fulfill all their deliveries, the CEO From IAI, the IAI CEO said Levy.

Doro Bar, vice president of IAI who also directs his subsidiary Elta, which focuses on radar and electronic warfare systems, said that Israel’s wars in Gaza and Lebanon led the company to advance their drone and contraconse technology for meet the modern Battlefield requirements.

“The slogan proven in combat is, I think, come true in the most dramatic way,” Bar said.

In any case, the Israel War since October 7, 2023 has now made its arms offers more popular among potential clients in events such as IDEX, no less, representatives said there.

“The reception was wonderful,” Bar on the Arms Fair said. “We really feel natural and welcome here, and we are part of this area in the world. So, naturally, we feel very good in this environment … and we are very grateful to the Eau government.”