How Israel’s defense industry benefited from Russia’s failure in Ukraine War

The world’s strategic pivot is most visible in India, traditionally Russia’s largest customer.

By Hezy Laing

The systemic failure of Russian military hardware on the battlefields of Ukraine has dealt a blow to Moscow’s defense industry that will likely resonate for decades.

Images of “turret-tossed” tanks and the confirmed vulnerability of once-vaunted systems like the S-400 Triumf have stripped away the myth of Russian conventional superiority.

For decades, Russia utilized a high-margin export model to subsidize its own domestic defense needs, but that cycle has been shattered by a combination of battlefield reputational damage and crippling Western sanctions that have severed access to critical high-tech components.

The collapse is quantifiable: Russia’s share of the global arms market plummeted from approximately 21% to just 7.8% by 2024.

This vacuum has created a massive opening for agile, high-tech defense exporters—most notably Israel.

In 2024, Israeli defense exports reached a historic record of $14.8 billion, with nearly half of that revenue driven by advanced air defense systems, missiles, and rockets.

The world’s strategic pivot is most visible in India, traditionally Russia’s largest customer.

Seeking to reduce its 60% dependence on Russian platforms—many of which have faced delivery delays and maintenance failures—New Delhi has increasingly looked toward Jerusalem for niche expertise and operational innovation.

Reports from early 2026 indicate that India has approved a massive $8.6 billion defense package from Israel, positioning the country as its second-largest supplier after France.

This includes “battle-proven” technology such as:

Precision strike systems: Roughly 1,000 SPICE-1000 guided bombs and the Rampage air-to-surface missile.

Strategic deterrence: The reported offer of the “Golden Horizon” air-launched ballistic missile, a hypersonic-class weapon designed to strike high-value hardened targets at ranges of up to 2,000 km.

Beyond Asia, Israel is expanding its foothold in Africa and Southeast Asia, where former Russian clients are nursing doubts about the reliability of their current arsenals.

Unlike Russian firms, which are currently forced to prioritize domestic battlefield replenishment, Israeli companies like IAI and Rafael are maintaining rapid delivery timelines while offering the tech transfer and co-development deals that modernizing nations now demand.

As the “marketing disaster” in Ukraine continues to unfold, Israel’s proven, data-driven security solutions are poised to replace the aging Soviet-era legacies that once dominated the Global South.