In August 2026 Iran fired missiles at Emirati targets and attacked Adnoc-owned ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

By Hezy Laing 

Israel is engaged in advanced negotiations to sell an expanded package of its premier air‑defense systems to the United Arab Emirates, according to officials familiar with the discussions.

The talks involve the Israeli Ministry of Defense, senior representatives of the UAE Armed Forces, and executives from Israel Aerospace Industries, the manufacturer of the Barak‑8 and Barak‑MX ER interceptor systems.

The Barak‑MX ER family was upgraded in 2024-2025 by IAI’s Systems, Missiles and Space Group under CEO Boaz Levy, and now offers interception ranges of 35 km, 70 km and up to 150 km, with improved capabilities against hypersonic glide vehicles, aircraft, cruise missiles, UAV swarms and certain classes of ballistic threats.

The urgency for Abu Dhabi has grown significantly over the past two years.

The UAE had already been reinforcing its layered air‑defense architecture following repeated Houthi missile and drone attacks between 2018 and 2022, including the January 17, 2022 strike on Abu Dhabi that killed three civilians and damaged fuel infrastructure.

The threat picture changed dramatically in 2024 and 2025.

In March 2025, the IRGC launched six ballistic missiles and 14 UAVs targeting Jebel Ali Port and Al Dhafra Air Base.

UAE air defenses working with US CENTCOM intercepted most of the threats, but one missile struck near a logistics facility and injured two people.

It was the first direct Iranian attack on Emirati soil.

The intensifying direct confrontation with Iran has accelerated Gulf interest in Israeli air‑defense technology.

Through 2025 and into 2026, Houthi and IRGC Navy drone and anti-ship missile launches toward Gulf shipping lanes have continued as part of a wider campaign in the Red Sea.

In August 2026 Iran fired missiles at Emirati targets and attacked Adnoc-owned ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

At least a dozen people had been killed and more than 200 injured in the Emirates since the war began, and the UAE had severed trade and financial ties with Tehran in response.

On August 1, 2026, Kuwaiti air defenses intercepted Iranian drones targeting a government building in northern Kuwait and a facility on Bubiyan Island.

Later in August, Iran also attacked Saudi-owned tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, including the Sidr, killing two Filipino seafarers.

Between February and June 2026, 68 incidents were confirmed in the Gulf, with attacks recorded off the coasts of the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Iraq and Iran.

Emirati officials view Israeli systems as battle‑proven against Iranian‑made threats, making the current negotiations both strategically and politically significant.

Emirati defense officials have evaluated several Israeli systems since the signing of the Abraham Accords on September 15, 2020, including Rafael’s Iron Dome, David’s Sling, and IAI’s Arrow-2.

Arrow‑3 remains subject to U.S. export restrictions, though discussions on co-development resumed in late 2025.

The current 2026 negotiations include live-fire operational demonstrations in the Negev, integration studies with the UAE’s existing Patriot PAC-3 MSE and THAAD batteries, joint command-and-control links via the US-led IAMD network, and talks over AI-based threat cueing.

Israeli officials have visited Abu Dhabi and Dubai four times in 2025-2026 as part of a broader regional defense dialogue that now also includes Bahrain, Morocco and Saudi Arabia under the expanded Abraham Accords security framework.

If finalized in the fourth quarter of 2026, the deal could reach between $700 million and $1.1 billion, depending on the number of Barak-MX ER batteries, LRAD interceptors, and five-year support and training packages included.

Since 2020, Israeli arms sales to Arab states have grown sharply.

Morocco took delivery of Barak-MX in 2023 in a deal worth approximately $500 million, alongside UAVs from BlueBird Aero Systems and electronic-warfare suites from Elbit Systems.

The UAE signed a 2023 agreement for cyber defense and counter-UAV lasers with Rafael, and in 2025 expanded its agreement on intelligence-sharing and UAV development after the March attack.

Bahrain operationalized Israeli cyber and radar systems at NSA Bahrain in 2024. Saudi Arabia entered indirect procurement talks for Israeli counter-drone systems via US integrators in 2025.

According to SIBAT, Israel’s defense exports hit a record $14.8 billion in 2024, with roughly 30% directed to Middle Eastern and Abraham Accords customers, marking a dramatic shift from decades in which Israeli arms sales to Arab countries were effectively nonexistent.