Israel Hayom has learned that the Ministry of Defense plans to ease the licensing process for defense exports and significantly expand the list of countries approved for marketing. The move comes as the Director General of the Ministry of Defense Maj. Gen. (res.) Amir Baram, with the approval of Defense Minister Israel Katz, advances a decision aimed at increasing defense exports and reducing bureaucracy.
The decision followed the completion of work by an expert committee to strengthen and increase defense exports, including significant simplifications of the licensing process and a transition to single-stage licensing for most unclassified products.
The former Director General of the Ministry of Defense, Maj, chaired the committee. Gen. (res.) Ehud Shani. Committee members included former head of Israel's Defense Export Control Agency Col. (res.) Dubi Lavi and Col. (res.) David Rokach. The committee consulted with dozens of current and former officials from the Ministry of Defense, the IDF, defense industries, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The committee was established as part of the Ministry of Defense's strategy to increase defense exports, designed to strengthen Israel's defense industries in a way that would also facilitate the development and production of equipment for the Israeli defense establishment, while generating revenue for the state treasury.
The Ministry of Defense decision comes against the backdrop of global demand for Israeli developments that proved themselves in the war, serving as a tool to strengthen the defense industry and create additional budget sources for the defense establishment that now needs to refill stockpiles, restore the IDF to full readiness, and prepare for future surprises in the coming conflicts.
Among the committee's recommendations, now being published for the first time, are significant expansion of the "permitted countries" list, for which marketing license exemptions exist for unclassified products with reduced product exclusions; marketing license exemptions for products at classified levels for a defined country list (subject to legislative changes); expansion of single-stage licensing procedures to simplify and streamline marketing processes; establishment of a ministerial committee for technological registration of products in a unified, centralized, time-bound process; increased frequency of advisory committee meetings and reduced license processing times to enhance enforcement.
The committee's recommendations will be submitted to Defense Minister Israel Katz for approval. He said, "The entire world marvels at the operational capability proven on the ground, and wants to buy more and more blue-and-white products. The reform will enable us to leverage this strategic opportunity – to expand defense exports, simplify bureaucratic processes, open new markets, and further strengthen the defense industries – from national responsibility and from understanding that defense exports are a central engine for building the IDF's strength and Israel's security."
Director General of the Ministry of Defense Maj. Gen. (res.) Amir Baram said, "Defense exports are a central tool in the Ministry of Defense's strategy to ensure force buildup and IDF empowerment, for policy influence and for strengthening industry and the economy. We need broad defense exports to create additional sources for the defense budget and to increase investment in developing the next surprises and expanding production lines in the industries."
