Israeli Arms Exports to Africa Rise 70% Between 2015 and 2016, Reports Say

Israeli arms sales to African countries are growing steadily, according to a report by defenceWeb, a partner of Second Line of Defense, published on March 19, 2018 and written by Arie Egozi. The report said defence exports rose 70 percent between 2015 and 2016, to reach $275 million. Data for 2017 were not yet available, but Israeli ministry of defence sources told the publication that the figures for that year were even higher.

The Israeli ministry of defence and defence companies seldom release detailed information on sales to African countries. The report said African armed forces are known to be interested in several types of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), loitering weapons, communications systems and radars.

Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman was expected to begin a four-day visit to Africa on a Wednesday, and supplying weapons to African countries was likely to be on his agenda. The source described it as the first official visit by an Israeli defence minister to the continent in decades. Liberman was scheduled to visit Rwanda, Tanzania and Zambia, where he was expected to hold a series of diplomatic meetings with heads of state and their defence ministers.

According to the Israeli press, an Israeli security mission made a secret visit to Rwanda the previous month in an effort to sell weapons and military technology. The reports said the move apparently followed a deal under which Tel Aviv would see Rwanda receive asylum seekers being forcibly expelled from Israel. The Rwandan Army was previously reported to be equipped with Israeli-made Tavor assault rifles, and in 2016 it emerged that Rwanda had received ATMOS 2000 155 mm self-propelled howitzers from Israel’s Soltam.

Nigeria was described as a major potential customer for Israeli systems, though no specific deals were detailed. Sources said the Nigerian army had evaluated several Israeli-made UAVs. The source noted that in 2006 the Nigerian Air Force received a number of Aerostar UAVs from Israel’s Aeronautics Defence Systems. The company announced in December 2017 that it had signed a contract to sell Aerostar UAVs to an African country, valued at $13 million, with deliveries to take 18 months. In February, it was revealed that the African Union mission in Somalia, Amisom, was receiving Aerostar UAVs.

Other Israeli firms were also named. Innocon has supplied its systems to at least one African country but declined to elaborate on the deal. Meteor Aerospace is offering its systems to at least two African countries and is developing the Impact-1300, a medium-altitude long-endurance aircraft, after its Impact-700, which is in series production.

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute’s (SIPRI) Arms Transfers database records that Israel has supplied armoured vehicles and other equipment to Africa in recent years. These include five Musketeer armoured vehicles and 16 Thunder armoured personnel carriers to Cameroon, 11 RAM armoured vehicles to Chad, 75 Thunder APCs to Ethiopia, and 55 RAMs to Senegal. The report also cites deals not yet reported by SIPRI, including Angolan Cessna Citations configured for maritime surveillance by Israel’s BIRD Aerosystems, and an order from an undisclosed African nation for $240 million worth of defensive aids, communications and avionics equipment from Elbit Systems.

SIPRI noted that Israel is one of a range of smaller suppliers of major weapons to sub-Saharan Africa, and that deals have often been accompanied by serving or retired Israeli military personnel and Israeli civilian contractors acting as instructors. SIPRI said that although Israeli arms exports of major weapons to the region are limited, Israeli weapons, brokers and instructors are likely to sometimes have a larger impact than the number of weapons supplied implies. Over the last decade, the source reported Israeli exports to Africa have included targeting pods, self-propelled guns and mortars, UAVs, multiple rocket launchers, armoured vehicles, patrol craft and radars, and that Israel has also provided aircraft and vehicle upgrades.

The report notes that Israel publicly reports exports of major weapons systems to Africa but is less transparent about small arms. It is known to have supplied Galil assault rifles to half a dozen African nations, including South Sudan, Chad, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Djibouti, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Rwanda and Swaziland. Negev light machine guns and Uzi submachine guns have also appeared in countries such as the DRC and Equatorial Guinea, according to the source. Accountability on such transfers depends on the disclosure that the source says is limited, a point that bears on the protection of the vulnerable (Proverbs 31:8-9).

Source: Read the original report