{"id":34388,"date":"2026-06-11T08:22:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T08:22:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/34388\/"},"modified":"2026-06-11T08:22:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T08:22:10","slug":"ila-berlin-2026-opens-under-shadow-of-iran-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/34388\/","title":{"rendered":"ILA Berlin 2026 opens under shadow of Iran war"},"content":{"rendered":"

Despite an overhanging shadow of war with Iran, over a dozen Israeli defense companies are taking part in ILA Berlin, one of Europe\u2019s major aviation and defense exhibitions that opened on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

ILA Berlin, taking place between June 10-14, 2026, will host more than 750 exhibitors from 37 countries. There are 15 Israeli companies participating, pitching their battle-proven systems to countries and companies aiming to rearm as Europe\u2019s defense spending continues to rise<\/a> due to ongoing conflicts and regional rivalries.<\/p>\n

The companies are showcasing systems from various domains such as aerospace and space systems; air defense; unmanned platforms and counter-UAS solutions; radar and electronic warfare; AI-driven command, control, and situational awareness; and advanced homeland security.<\/p>\n

In addition to Israel Aerospace Industries, Elbit Systems, and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, the smaller companies taking part include Aeromaoz, ASIO Technologies<\/a>, Axon Vision, BIRD Aerosystems, Creomagic, eyesAtop, Magam Safety, Maris-Tech, Orbit Communication Systems, RSL Electronics, TSG, and Uvision.<\/p>\n

According to the Defense Ministry, Israel\u2019s participation in ILA Berlin 2026 \u201ccomes amid a record-breaking year for Israeli defense exports, which surpassed the $19 billion threshold in 2025, driven in part by the expansion of the Arrow 3 deal with Germany.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TheThe opening of Israel’s National Pavilion at ILA Berlin 2026 in Germany (credit: DEFENSE MINISTRY PRESS OFFICE)<\/p>\n

Germany is undergoing a significant transformation in its defense posture. Since 2022, Berlin has committed to large\u2011scale increases in defense spending, initiated major procurement programs, and articulated a long\u2011term ambition to become Europe\u2019s strongest military power.<\/p>\n

The country is investing heavily in air defense, armored platforms, advanced munitions, and integrated command\u2011and\u2011control systems, creating a broad spectrum of opportunities for international defense suppliers.<\/p>\n

The Berlin Air Show underscores Germany\u2019s growing importance as a defense hub. While ILA has traditionally focused on aerospace, it has expanded in recent years to include broader defense and security technologies, reflecting Germany\u2019s increasing emphasis on integrated air and missile defense and on strengthening its industrial partnerships.<\/p>\n

\u201cIsrael\u2019s participation in the exhibition reflects the Ministry\u2019s strategy to deepen defense and strategic cooperation<\/a> with Germany, and the significant potential for expanding business partnerships with German industry and additional European nations,\u201d said Director of the International Defense Cooperation Directorate (SIBAT), Brig.-Gen. (res.) Yair Kulas.<\/p>\n

New partnerships<\/p>\n

While there were pro-Palestinian protesters on the opening day, Israel’s Defense Ministry said that \u201cthe exhibition serves as an important platform to advance and deepen strategic partnerships \u2013 both with Germany and with other friendly nations across Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the airshow, Elbit Systems announced that it had signed a strategic partnership with Diehl Defense to jointly offer the SkyStriker loitering munition system to the German Armed Forces (Bundeswehr)<\/p>\n

According to a press release, Elbit Systems along with its German Subsidiary, Elbit Systems Deutschland, and Diehl Defence will \u201ccombine their complementary technologies, industrial capabilities, and deep operational expertise to offer a high\u2011performance, mature loitering munition solution, tailored specifically to Germany\u2019s defense and modernization priorities.\u201d<\/p>\n

The SkyStriker<\/a> is an autonomous, long\u2011range loitering munition designed to locate, track, and engage operator\u2011designated high-value targets with high accuracy. The platform is capable of carrying up to a 10\u2011kilogram warhead, loitering more than two hours, and achieving a range of over 200 km. It can be launched from numerous platforms including land-based vehicles, the EuroPULS rocket launcher, naval vessels, containers and aircraft.<\/p>\n

The partnership also includes local manufacturing, assembly, integration, and qualification activities at Diehl Defence, if awarded relevant programs, supporting the development of sovereign capabilities and strengthening the German defense industry.<\/p>\n

\"ElbitElbit Systems’ SkyStriker drone in flight. (credit: ELBIT SYSTEMS)No politics, just systems<\/p>\n

Unlike Eurosatory<\/a>, where France banned Israeli companies from presenting offensive weapons systems, ILA offers a venue free from the political constraints, allowing them to present a wider range of systems and engage more directly with German and European stakeholders.<\/p>\n

In a recent interview, Shifters CEO Ofer Ballin told Defense & Tech by The Jerusalem Post that \u201cwe all know that Europe is going through a tremendous change in terms of force building, and the geopolitical situation over the next decade will make the need supersede the politics.\u201d<\/p>\n

Assaf Chaprak, CTO at Shifters, told D&T that \u201cGermany has always been a better option than France. The decision that the French government made is pure antisemitism. It is outrageous and shameful, but regardless, Eurosatory is a great opportunity to meet and engage with clients and with users.\u201d<\/p>\n

The opening ceremony of the Israeli National Pavilion took place on Wednesday under the leadership of SIBAT within the Israel Ministry of Defense (IMOD), with the heads of Israel\u2019s defense industries in attendance.<\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s Ambassador to Germany, Ron Prosor, said the technologies on display \u201coffer the most concrete demonstration\u201d of Israel\u2019s contribution to German and European security.<\/p>\n

\u201cIsrael, Germany, and Europe face shared security challenges, including the infiltration of Iranian-origin technologies into the European arena and shared threats in the fight against terrorism.<\/p>\n

The close strategic relationship between our two countries, including in the defense sector, holds enormous potential for future cooperation in additional areas, including joint technological development and production,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Despite an overhanging shadow of war with Iran, over a dozen Israeli defense companies are taking part in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":34389,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[18,20322,1324,5,6358,425],"class_list":["post-34388","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-berlin","tag-berlin","tag-defense-tech","tag-defense-industry","tag-germany","tag-germany-and-israel","tag-weapons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34388","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34388"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34388\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34389"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34388"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34388"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34388"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}