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The Israeli Defense-Tech Corridor in America: Elbit, Rafael, IAI — Every US Facility, Every Production Line, Every State

By The Olam Editorial Team · Aug 4, 2026
The Israeli Defense-Tech Corridor in America: Elbit, Rafael, IAI — Every US Facility, Every Production Line, Every State

Israel's three largest defense companies operate across 15+ US states. Elbit in Fort Worth (11 facilities), Rafael Iron Dome in Arkansas, IAI in Herndon ($800M US revenue). $615M+ in FMF through Georgia.

The Israeli Defense-Tech Corridor in America: Elbit, Rafael, IAI — Every US Facility, Every Production Line, Every State

An Olam Study — August 2026

Israel's three largest defense companies — Elbit Systems, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, and Israel Aerospace Industries — operate a combined industrial base across at least fifteen US states and territories. These are not liaison offices or sales desks. They are manufacturing plants building Iron Dome interceptors in Arkansas, night vision systems in New Hampshire, display electronics in Pennsylvania, and helmet-mounted systems in Fort Worth. They are engineering centers designing next-generation munitions in Tucson and unmanned systems in Herndon. They are Washington offices on K Street and Crystal Drive, staffing program offices that manage billions in Foreign Military Financing.

Georgia alone has received more than $615 million in US Foreign Military Financing for contracts supplying the Israeli Defense Forces since 1996. The Israeli defense prime contractor headquartered closest to the Pentagon is not in Haifa or Tel Aviv — it is on Marine Creek Parkway in Fort Worth, Texas.

This study maps the American production base — facility by facility, state by state, program by program.

Elbit Systems of America — Fort Worth, Texas: 11 US Locations

Elbit Systems of America, LLC is a wholly owned US subsidiary of Israel's Elbit Systems Ltd (NASDAQ: ESLT; TASE: ESLT) — the largest commercial defense-electronics company in Israel, controlled by the Federmann family through a ~45% stake in Federmann Enterprises. Under CEO Bezhalel "Butzi" Machlis since 2013, Elbit closed FY2025 with $7.94 billion in revenue and a $28.1 billion order backlog.

Elbit America is one of the largest Israeli-owned companies operating on American soil. Its US operations generate more than $2 billion in annual revenue. The company acts as a purchasing agent for the Foreign Military Financing (FMF) and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programs — meaning US defense appropriations flow through Fort Worth to equip the Israeli Defense Forces with American-produced systems.

The 11 North American Facilities:

1. Fort Worth, TX — US Corporate Headquarters
4700 Marine Creek Parkway, Fort Worth, TX 76179. The nerve center. Executive leadership, program management, and engineering. The address sits in the defense-industrial zone north of downtown Fort Worth, adjacent to the Lockheed Martin F-35 production facility and the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base.

2. San Antonio, TX — Operations
Engineering and manufacturing for ground combat systems, precision fires, and C4I solutions. San Antonio's proximity to Joint Base San Antonio (Lackland, Randolph, Fort Sam Houston) — the largest joint base in the Department of Defense — anchors the customer relationship.

3. Merrimack, NH — Operations
220 Daniel Webster Highway, Merrimack, NH 03054. Electronic warfare, communications, and intelligence systems. The New Hampshire operation has deep roots in the defense electronics cluster anchored by BAE Systems' Nashua campus nearby.

4. Talladega, AL — Operations, Maintenance, and Repair
108 Allen Street, Talladega, AL 35160. Manufacturing and sustainment for land systems. Significant maintenance and repair capabilities — meaning Elbit America not only builds systems but services them through their operational lifecycle.

5. Boca Raton, FL — Operations
Engineering and program management for selected defense electronics programs.

6. Arlington, VA — Washington Office
1300 North 17th Street, Suite 1200, Arlington, VA 22209. Government relations, business development, and program oversight. The Rosslyn address puts Elbit America within walking distance of the Pentagon.

7. Roanoke, VA — Night Vision Manufacturing
7635 Plantation Road, Roanoke, VA 24019. Night vision and electro-optical systems. This is where Elbit America manufactures the image-intensifier tubes and night vision goggles (NVGs) used by US and allied forces. Roanoke is one of only a handful of facilities worldwide certified to produce Generation III night vision technology at scale.

8. Birdsboro, PA — Aydin Displays
1 Riga Lane, Birdsboro, PA 19508. Home of the Aydin Displays subsidiary, which manufactures ruggedized military-grade display systems for ground vehicles, naval vessels, and command centers.

9. Huntsville, AL — Office
Huntsville is the center of US Army missile defense and space programs (Redstone Arsenal, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center). Elbit America's office here services Army programs including precision fires and missile-warning systems.

10. Ogden, UT — Office
Adjacent to Hill Air Force Base, which manages Air Force sustainment for fighter aircraft, missiles, and munitions.

11. San Diego, CA — Additional Presence
Naval and maritime systems support, positioned near Naval Base San Diego and Camp Pendleton.

Each of Elbit America's major operational facilities has both engineering and manufacturing capabilities. The Alabama and Texas facilities have significant maintenance and repair operations. The product portfolio spans electronic warfare, C4I, ground combat systems, precision fires, night vision, helmet-mounted displays (including the JHMCS II used on F-35 and F-16 aircraft), mobile tactical cannons, and maritime systems.

The 2018 acquisition of state-owned Israel Military Industries (IMI Systems) for NIS 1.8 billion consolidated Israel's fragmented land-warfare industrial base into Elbit's single balance sheet — and, by extension, into the Fort Worth–anchored US subsidiary's procurement pipeline.

US States: Texas (2), New Hampshire, Alabama (2), Florida, Virginia (2), Pennsylvania, Utah, California.
Primary Sources: Elbit America corporate website/contact page; Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce; Elbit Systems 2025 20-F; Congressional Research Service report on US Foreign Aid to Israel (RL33222).

Rafael Advanced Defense Systems — Iron Dome Production in Arkansas and Beyond

Rafael Advanced Defense Systems is Israel's state-owned (until the planned Q2 2026 TASE IPO at ~25–30% float) developer of Iron Dome, David's Sling, Iron Beam, Spike anti-tank missiles, and Trophy active protection systems. FY2025 sales hit $6.8 billion (first time above $6B), with a $23.3 billion order backlog. Half of that backlog is exports.

Rafael's US presence is fundamentally different from Elbit's. Where Elbit built a wholly owned American subsidiary with eleven facilities, Rafael operates through its US subsidiary — Rafael Advanced Defense Systems USA Inc. — and through joint ventures with American defense primes. The strategy is production-through-partnership, not standalone manufacturing.

The Joint Ventures:

1. Raytheon RAFAEL Area Protection Systems (RRAPS) — Arkansas
The centerpiece. RTX (formerly Raytheon Technologies) and Rafael signed a joint venture in August 2020 to establish the first Iron Dome Weapon System production facility outside of Israel. The Arkansas facility manufactures:

  • The Iron Dome Weapon System — Tamir interceptor and launcher.
  • The SkyHunter missile — a US derivative of Tamir, purpose-built for US Army and allied procurement.

Both Tamir and SkyHunter intercept incoming cruise missiles, unmanned aerial systems, rockets, artillery, and mortars. Raytheon and Rafael have partnered on Iron Dome for more than a decade — the system has executed more than 2,500 operational intercepts with a success rate exceeding 90 percent.

The Arkansas production line is strategically critical. As US Foreign Military Financing rules phase Israel's Offshore Procurement (OSP) privilege to zero by 2028, an increasing share of FMF-funded procurement must be manufactured in the United States. The RRAPS facility satisfies that requirement for Iron Dome.

In February 2026, Rafael entered Phase I of the US Army's competition for the Indirect Fire Protection Capability (IFPC) Increment 2 program — competing against Lockheed Martin and a Boeing-Anduril team with an updated Tamir variant. If selected, the Arkansas production line would scale significantly.

2. General Atomics × Rafael — Tupelo, Mississippi
In April 2025, General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) and Rafael announced joint manufacture of a long-range precision-guided strike missile in Tupelo, Mississippi.

3. RTX Missiles & Defense — Tucson, Arizona
The RTX partnership anchors Rafael's US production relationship in Tucson — home to RTX's Missiles & Defense division, Southern Arizona's largest private employer. The Tucson campus manages integration, testing, and program management for the Iron Dome / SkyHunter line. Tucson is also central to the "Golden Dome" national missile defense program announced by President Trump in May 2025, which named RTX interceptors — including the SkyHunter line co-developed with Rafael — as a core element.

4. Rafael USA Inc. — Washington, DC Area
Rafael's US subsidiary maintains a Washington-area presence for government relations, business development, and program management of US military contracts.

Rafael's real product is not Iron Dome — it is combat-validation. Every system Rafael sells has been tested in live combat by the IDF. That is a moat money cannot buy and competitors cannot fake. The American production base converts combat-validated Israeli technology into American-manufactured defense products.

US States: Arkansas (Iron Dome production), Arizona (Tucson/RTX partnership), Mississippi (GA-EMS JV), Virginia/DC area (government relations).
Primary Sources: RTX press release, August 3, 2020; Breaking Defense reporting on IFPC Phase I (February 2026); General Atomics press release, April 2025; rafael-usa.com.

Israel Aerospace Industries — Herndon, Virginia: The $800 Million US Anchor

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) is Israel's largest aerospace and defense company — a state-owned enterprise with approximately 15,000 employees worldwide, FY2025 revenue of $7.3 billion (+21% year-over-year), a $29 billion order backlog, and a planned ~$20 billion TASE IPO in Q2 2026.

IAI's US subsidiary — IAI North America — operates from a 30,000-square-foot facility in the Dulles Technology Corridor in Herndon, Virginia, in Fairfax County. IAI North America moved from Rosslyn to the Herndon facility, hosting more than 200 employees. IAI's US business accounts for approximately $800 million in annual revenue.

The Herndon location was chosen for three reasons: proximity to Washington Dulles International Airport, proximity to the Pentagon and the Intelligence Community headquarters in Northern Virginia, and proximity to the dense cluster of defense prime contractors (Northrop Grumman in Falls Church, General Dynamics in Reston, Leidos in Reston, SAIC in Reston) that form IAI's US partner and customer base.

IAI's US-Relevant Product Lines:

  • Arrow 2 / Arrow 3 — co-developed with Boeing for the US-Israeli missile defense partnership. Arrow 3 is the exo-atmospheric interceptor capable of defeating ballistic missiles in space.
  • Barak-8 — medium-range air defense, co-developed with India's DRDO.
  • Heron / Eitan UAVs — the MALE unmanned aerial vehicle franchise operating in 50+ countries.
  • ELTA Systems — IAI's subsidiary for radar, electronic warfare, and intelligence systems.
  • Amos satellites — commercial and military communications satellites.
  • Business jets and aerostructures — Gulfstream wing assemblies and passenger-to-freighter aircraft conversions.

IAI CATALYST Accelerator:
IAI has launched the IAI CATALYST Accelerator from its Herndon headquarters — a 20-week program providing $100,000 investments to startups in quantum, AI, space technology, and energy, with pilot projects inside IAI's systems.

US State: Virginia (Herndon HQ).
Primary Sources: Virginia Economic Development Partnership press release, November 2019; BusinessWire IAI Fairfax County announcement; Virginia Business reporting on $800M US revenue.

The Georgia Corridor: $5.4 Billion and $615 Million in FMF

Georgia occupies a unique position in the Israeli defense-tech corridor — not as a headquarters state for any Israeli prime, but as the manufacturing and procurement hub through which a disproportionate share of US-Israel defense dollars flow.

Key figures from the 5W Israeli Tech in Georgia 2026 research report:

  • $5.4 billion — cumulative Georgia exports to Israel since 1996.
  • $374 million — Georgia exports to Israel in 2024 (manufacturing goods).
  • #10 — Georgia's rank among US states in exports to Israel.
  • $615+ million — US Foreign Military Financing to Georgia firms for IDF contracts since 1996.
  • 50+ Israeli-affiliated companies operating in Georgia.

The FMF corridor anchors on Robins Air Force Base — Georgia's largest single-site industrial employer — and a generation of Atlanta-based defense contractors: Northrop Grumman Support Services in Warner Robins, the former GE Intelligence Platforms business (now inside Emerson Electric), Lockheed Martin in Marietta, and Gulfstream in Savannah.

The Georgia Israel Business Alliance (GIBA), launched in 2025 and incubated by the Zalik Foundation, succeeded the 33-year Conexx business alliance. Delta Air Lines committed in October 2025 to restoring nonstop Atlanta–Tel Aviv service.

The FMF Phaseout and What It Forces

Under the 2016-negotiated, 2019–2028 Memorandum of Understanding between the United States and Israel, Israel's Offshore Procurement (OSP) privilege — the ability to spend a portion of US Foreign Military Financing inside Israel rather than in the United States — is being phased from 25% in 2019 to 0% in 2028. This is not a policy suggestion. It is a contractual obligation.

The OSP phaseout has a direct structural consequence: every dollar of the $3.3 billion annual FMF allocation must be spent on American-made defense products. For Elbit, Rafael, and IAI, this means their American production bases are not optional diversification — they are the mandatory mechanism through which Israeli defense companies access US military aid.

Elbit America's Fort Worth operation was purpose-built for this. The subsidiary acts as a purchasing agent for FMF and FMS programs, channeling US appropriations into American-manufactured systems that are then delivered to the IDF. Rafael's Arkansas Iron Dome facility serves the same function for missile defense. IAI North America's Herndon headquarters manages the $800 million US revenue stream that flows through Virginia-based program offices.

The phaseout also accelerates co-production with American defense primes. The Rafael–RTX joint venture, the General Atomics–Rafael missile program in Mississippi, and Elbit's integration with Lockheed Martin supply chains in Marietta are all structural responses to the same regulatory reality. A future MOU, if renegotiated under the Trump administration, could theoretically restore some OSP. But the industrial infrastructure is already built. Fort Worth is not going to close. The Arkansas line is not going to move back to Haifa. The American production base is permanent.

The Combined Scale

The three companies collectively account for the vast majority of Israel's $13+ billion annual defense exports — making Israel the world's 10th-largest arms exporter despite a population of 9.8 million. In per-capita terms, Israel is the largest defense exporter on Earth.

Their American operations generate an estimated $3.5–4 billion in combined annual US revenue (Elbit America $2B+, IAI North America $800M, Rafael USA JV revenue embedded in RTX reporting). They employ thousands of American workers with security clearances across at least fifteen states.

The combined order backlog of the three companies exceeds $80 billion. Against the US primes — Lockheed Martin ($176B), RTX ($220B+), Rheinmetall (€55B+) — the absolute scale gap remains. But the velocity gap is narrowing. Elbit's backlog grew 30% in a single year. Rafael's grew 40%. IAI's grew 25%. Post-October 7, European rearmament and expanded US military aid have accelerated the Israeli defense primes faster than their Western counterparts.

The American corridor is where that backlog converts into revenue. Fort Worth, Herndon, Tucson, and Warner Robins are not outposts of an Israeli defense industry. They are production nodes in a transatlantic defense-industrial base that is growing, not shrinking.

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