Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI)
IAI is the largest Israeli defense industrial prime by employee count, the state-owned anchor of Israel's missile defense, satellite, and unmanned aerial systems capabilities — and the largest single Israeli industrial counterparty in the Indian defense market.
| Type | State-owned defense and aerospace corporation |
| Founded | 1953 (as Bedek Aviation; renamed IAI in 1968) |
| Headquarters | Lod, Israel (Ben Gurion International Airport campus) |
| Owner | Government of Israel |
| President and CEO | Boaz Levy |
| Employees | ~16,000 |
| 2024 revenue | ~$5.5 billion |
Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) is one of the three principal Israeli defense industrial primes — alongside Rafael and Elbit Systems — and the largest by employee count. The state-owned corporation runs across aerospace, defense systems, missiles, satellites, radar and electronic warfare, unmanned aerial systems, and adjacent industrial domains, with substantial export business across Asia, Europe, and the broader global defense market.
IAI's portfolio anchors several of Israel's most internationally recognized defense systems. The Arrow missile defense system (developed jointly with the US Missile Defense Agency) anchors the upper tiers of Israel's multi-layered missile defense architecture. The Heron family of UAVs and the Harop loitering munition run across multiple Israeli and international customer programs. The Phalcon airborne early-warning radar systems and adjacent radar architectures serve Israeli, Indian, and other international customers. The Ofek series of reconnaissance satellites runs Israel's national satellite capability.
For Strategic Technology Trade coverage in The Olam, IAI is central to the Israeli-India defense corridor — India is the largest single destination for IAI export business, accounting for material share of the cumulative ~$20.5 billion in Israeli arms sales to India through SIBAT. IAI joint ventures and licensing arrangements with Indian defense industry have expanded substantially under India's Atmanirbhar Bharat framework, with the Adani-Elbit Hermes 900 UAV production facility in Hyderabad sitting alongside IAI's own Indian operations.
The IAI position in the European market has expanded substantially in the post-2022 environment, with the Russia-Ukraine conflict driving increased European demand for missile defense, electronic warfare, and adjacent capability categories where Israeli industry is well-positioned.
Read Next in The Olam
- Defense — Pillar
- Strategic Technology Trade — Adjacent pillar
- The Israel-India Technology Corridor — Detail on IAI-India business
- The Israeli Defense Export Index, First Edition
Sources
IAI corporate disclosures; SIBAT 2024 Defense Exports Report; SIPRI; Reuters; Globes; Times of Israel; published research. Data current as of Q2 2026.