A report finds that Israel was the eighth largest arms exporter in the world in 2018.

By World Israel News Staff 

An Israeli high-tech defense company has been awarded a multi-million dollar contract to supply an array of unmanned aircraft drones to a non-disclosed Southeast Asian army, reports Globes.

“Elbit Systems Ltd. was awarded a contract valued at approximately $153 million to supply an army of a country in Southeast Asia with a comprehensive, multi-layered array of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS),” the company said in a statement, as reported by the news outlet.

The full supply would be made available over the course of a 22-month period, said the report.

“This contract award underlines our competitive edge as armies increasingly view multi-layered UAS solutions as key to providing superior intelligence while maintaining a high level of operational flexibility,” Elbit CEO Bezhalel Machlis said.

Elbit Systems is an international high technology company that is engaged in a wide range of defense, homeland security, and commercial programs throughout the world. The company says that it operates in the areas of aerospace, land, and naval systems.

Elbit was the world’s 28th largest arms exporter in 2018, according to a report published in March by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

According to SIPRI, two other Israeli high tech defense manufacturers cracked the top 100 arms export company list that year. Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. (IAI) claimed the 41st spot and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. was ranked 45th.

The report also found that Israel was the eighth-largest arms exporter in the world in 2018.

Over the past decade, Israeli arms exports increased by 60%, the SIPRI report says. In comparison, U.S. arms exports increased by nearly 30%, while Russia saw a 17% decrease.

The five largest suppliers in the world in 2018 were the United States, Russia, France, Germany, and China. jointly contributing to 75% of all arms exports, the report says.

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