Several leading Israeli defense manufacturers attended a major defense show in the United Arab Emirates last week, in a testament to the durability of the Abraham Accords despite the recent military escalation in the conflict between the Jewish state and Iran’s proxies.
The 2025 International Defence Exhibition (IDEX) and the Naval Defence and Maritime Security Exhibition (NAVDEX), a four-day event that concluded in Abu Dhabi on Friday, featured an Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) delegation that presented air defense systems, remotely-crewed aircraft, satellite systems, naval combat suites and sensors, including radars, electro-optics and electronic warfare components.
“It’s a show that we have been attending since the Abraham Accords were signed in 2020,” Boaz Levy, IAI President and CEO, told JNS. “The Accords were designed to bring peace and prosperity to our region, and this show and our participation—along with other Israeli companies’ participation—is, in many ways, turning that vision into reality.”
Trade and other relations with Israel are sensitive issues in many Arab and Muslim-majority countries, especially when it comes to weapons. Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon triggered mass anti-Israel rallies across the Middle East and beyond.
“We received a very warm welcome from our Emirati hosts and were honored to host them and many of our clients and prospective clients in our booth,” Levy added. He noted that “this comes within one year of us—and other Israeli defense companies—being uninvited by the French to two air shows.”
The juxtaposition, Levy said, “is hard to ignore, and I believe this demonstrates the strength of the Abraham Accords and our collective commitment toward them.”
Earlier this month, a French newspaper reported that Morocco had decided to buy 36 artillery units from Israeli defense manufacturer Elbit, instead of renewing a contract for a similar product from France. Elbit will supply Morocco’s defense ministry with 36 ATMOS 2000 155 mm self-propelled gun systems, according to the report in La Tribune.
Morocco joined the Abraham Accords agreements with Israel in 2020 and re-established open diplomatic and commercial ties with the Jewish state, which it had terminated during the Second Intifada (2000-2005). The other cosignatories are the United Arab Emirates; Bahrain and Sudan.
At IDEX and NAVDEX, IAI also showcased the Barak ER–an advanced air and missile defense system that enables fire optimization and threat management. The ER interceptor missile is launched vertically and includes a booster engine, a two-pulse rocket engine, and an advanced radar-homing warhead with a range of over 90 miles.
Barak ER, whose earlier models revolutionized air defenses for naval vessels, “was one of the most asked-about systems during the show,” Levy said.
Another IAI ace was the MMR radar—one of the most operationally-used radar systems in the world. It’s a multi-tasking radar that provides real-time, high-quality situational imaging, allowing users to simultaneously identify and classify hundreds of targets, detecting UAVs, missile barrages, rockets and new threats in the relevant arena.