IAI - Israel Aerospace Industries

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) is a state-owned defense and aerospace company headquartered in Lod, Israel. It is wholly owned by the Israeli government and is one of the largest industrial employers in Israel. IAI develops and manufactures a wide range of defense and civilian aerospace systems, including satellites, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), missiles, radar systems, and aircraft upgrades.

IAI's primary work spans several domains: space systems (including the Ofek reconnaissance satellite series built for the Israeli government), UAVs (including the Heron and Harop families), air and missile defense systems (including the Barak family of ship-based and land-based air defense systems), and aircraft maintenance and upgrade programs for military platforms. Its customers are principally defense ministries and armed forces worldwide, with the Israeli Ministry of Defense as the anchor customer. Sales are conducted through government-to-government agreements and direct defense contracts rather than commercial channels.

The Heron and Heron TP are long-endurance UAVs that have been exported to multiple countries and operated by the Indian Air Force and others. The Harop is a loitering munition (also called a kamikaze drone) designed to autonomously attack radar emitters. The Barak-8, developed jointly with India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), is a medium- to long-range surface-to-air missile system. IAI's ELTA subsidiary produces airborne and ground-based radar systems, including the EL/M-2075 Phalcon airborne early warning system. The MBT Space division handles satellite manufacturing, including the Ofek series of reconnaissance satellites.

IAI competes in the global defense export market alongside Elbit Systems and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, both also Israeli companies. On the international stage it competes with large Western defense primes such as Lockheed Martin, Boeing Defense, and MBDA in overlapping product categories. IAI has historically been a significant exporter to India, Azerbaijan, and various Asian and European defense customers.

IAI's main campus is in Lod (near Ben Gurion Airport), with additional facilities across Israel. The company is a major pipeline for engineers coming out of Israeli academic institutions and IDF technical units. R&D, manufacturing, systems integration, and program management are all conducted in Israel; the company's workforce is predominantly Israel-based.