Three Israeli Defense Giants Rank Among World's Top 30
Three major Israeli defense companies, Elbit Systems, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, have secured spots within the top 30 global defense firms, collectively generating over $20 billion in defense revenues in 2025. This data comes from the 2026 Defense News Top 100 list.
Elbit Systems leads the Israeli contingent, ranking 21st globally with $7.412 billion in defense revenue out of total revenues of $7.938 billion last year. This places Elbit above prominent entities like China's CASC, General Electric's aviation division, and the European consortium MBDA. Elbit recently announced new contracts worth approximately $270 million with an international client for advanced electro-optical intelligence, surveillance, and targeting (ISR & Targeting) systems, to be delivered over six years. These systems, part of the Spectro family, will provide multi-spectral ISTAR capabilities for aerial, naval, and ground applications, featuring advanced sensors and AI-driven analytics.
Israel Aerospace Industries climbed one spot to 27th place with $6.112 billion in defense revenue from a total of $7.384 billion last year, surpassing French firm Safran and Britain's Rolls-Royce. Rafael Advanced Defense Systems entered the top 30, moving up from 31st place, with all of its $6.28 billion in defense revenue in 2025. Rafael recently celebrated its pivotal role in Israel's $3.6 billion 'Achilles Shield' air defense system deal with Greece, which includes its David's Sling and Spyder systems, alongside IAI's Barak MX.
Globally, Lockheed Martin and RTX of the United States remain the top two defense contractors, with $72.137 billion and $46 billion in defense revenues, respectively. General Dynamics moved to third place, followed by Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems. The war in Ukraine has significantly boosted Ukraine's military industry, which jumped from 49th to 36th place. Turkey has the most companies on the list with five, though their total defense revenue is less than that of the three Israeli firms. The UAE's EDGE Group ranks 37th globally and has a notable Israeli connection through its investment in the AI-based electro-optics firm 'Third Eye'.
