9-11 provided major boost for Israeli security and military exports

Special to WorldTribune.com

TEL AVIV — Israel has disclosed that annual defense and security
exports topped $7 billion in 2010.

The Defense Ministry reported a sharp rise in foreign defense sales over
the past decade. Officials attributed the increase to Al Qaida’s air suicide
strikes in the United States in 2001 in which more than 3,000 people were
killed.

Israeli defense exports for 2010 matched the all-time high reached in 2009, according to Defense Ministry officials.

“The United States woke up to a new reality, and today one can see
Israeli security companies working worldwide checking passengers and luggage
at airports, because we have already been there and we have the knowledge,”
Itamar Graff, deputy director of the Defense Ministry’s export agency, said.
Officials said Israeli defense exports were about $2 billion per year
before 2001. They said many countries began to select Israeli-origin defense
and security systems to bolster counter-insurgency capabilities amid the
threat by Al Qaida.

“When the world became aware of the matter of fighting terrorism, we
already had decades of experience on the matter, with many existing
technologies,” Graff said. “We are in a small area and constantly cope with
terrorist threats that arrive via foot, in tunnels, at day and night, by
land and through the air, so we knew to offer the world existing products
that have already been tested in operations in Lebanon, Judea and Samaria
and the Gaza Strip.”

Officials said the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq also fueled Israeli
defense exports. They cited unmanned aerial vehicles and armored systems to
the United States and NATO allies.

“Our companies knew how to provide existing and verified products,”
Graff said. “In both passive and active protection, we are among the world
leaders, and we are a power in anti-IED [improvised explosive devices]
measures.”

Israel has expanded its presence in the aircraft protection market,
particularly for civilian platforms. Companies such as Elbit Systems and
Israel Military Industries have been using radars and lasers to protect
civilian aircraft from shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles.

Officials said the United States, despite plans for significant defense
cuts, would continue to represent a leading defense market for Israel. They
cited the Israeli national pavilion at the annual Association of the U.S.
Army in Washington earlier this month. At least 10 Israeli companies joined the
pavilion, organized by the Defense Ministry.

“Our goal in establishing a national pavilion is to encourage
cooperation between American and Israeli technology companies in order to
develop better, more creative solutions for the
benefit of the security of both countries,” Shmaya Avieli, director of the
ministry’s arms export agency, said.

Officials said the Defense Ministry has assessed that Israeli export
level would be sustained or grow over the next few years. They said Israel
was seen as developing advanced technology in homeland security required in
the West as well as Asia.

“On issues such as home-front protection, shore security and missile
defense, people from around the world come to learn from us,” Graff said.
“We are dealing with a variety of possible threats and we will continue to
be a dominant and significant factor in the world.”

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