Israel is actively evaluating the prospect of taking two state-owned defence firms public in the United States, according to officials. Representatives from Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. (IAI) and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd., together with government ministers and ministry staff, plan a mid-July delegation to the U.S. to review possible structures for an overseas initial public offering.
The trip is intended to explore alternatives that could include either a primary listing in the United States or a dual listing, with a secondary listing to remain possible on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. The two firms are producers of noted air and missile defence systems, including the Arrow and Iron Dome systems.
Government plans currently envisage selling minority stakes of up to 30% in both IAI and Rafael. The privatization effort is aimed for completion by the end of the year. Valuation figures cited for the exercise are approximately 100 billion shekels for IAI and about 60 billion shekels for Rafael, with the shekel figures translated into roughly $33.7 billion for IAI's valuation.
During the U.S. visit, senior officials from Israel's defence and finance ministries will join representatives from the two companies to meet with investors, underwriters, legal advisers and U.S. regulators. A central topic for those meetings will be how U.S. transparency and disclosure requirements apply to companies that operate classified projects, and whether U.S. regulatory frameworks can provide flexibility for firms engaged in national security work.
Officials involved in the planning view U.S. regulators as potentially more disposed than Israeli regulators to accommodate disclosure exemptions or tailored treatment for national security reasons. Under Israel's existing dual-listing arrangement, companies that list on the Nasdaq or the New York Stock Exchange may subsequently seek a secondary listing on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange while remaining subject to the rules of their overseas listing jurisdiction.
If minority stakes in IAI and Rafael are sold as planned, the operation would generate billions of shekels in revenue for the Israeli budget. Central bank projections referenced by officials indicate that higher military spending following the October 2023 attacks by Hamas is expected to push this year's budget deficit to 5.3% of gross domestic product.
Officials will also investigate the possibility of listing subsidiaries of the two groups overseas. Each company operates about 40 wholly or partially owned subsidiaries, and those units generally do not require separate government approval to pursue listings abroad.
Both companies reported record revenue in 2025. Reported backlogs stand at more than $30 billion for IAI and over $20 billion for Rafael. Foreign orders represented around 70% of IAI's total and roughly half of Rafael's total, according to the figures provided.