Israel Aerospace Industries, the state-owned company behind the Arrow missile defense system, is moving faster toward a public listing than at any point in its six-decade history. CEO Boaz Levy said the IPO is “closer than ever,” and the numbers back up that confidence: IAI’s order backlog has swelled to a record $35 billion, fueled by a global defense spending surge that shows no sign of cooling. For context on just how long this moment has been in the making, Future Wire covered the structural delays holding back Israeli defense listings in our earlier look at IAI Rafael IPOs — the landscape has shifted considerably since then.
The backlog figure alone reframes the stakes. At $35 billion, IAI is sitting on more committed future revenue than many mid-cap defense contractors generate in a decade. That kind of pipeline gives underwriters a compelling story and gives potential public investors a rare look at a company whose demand problem is essentially solved — at least for the foreseeable future. The question for the IPO isn’t whether IAI has customers; it’s whether the Israeli government, which owns the company outright, is ready to dilute its stake and accept the disclosure obligations that come with a public market listing.
The Arrow, the Backlog, and What’s Driving Demand
IAI is probably best known internationally as the prime developer of the Arrow ballistic missile defense system, operated jointly with the United States and widely considered among the most capable anti-ballistic systems deployed anywhere in the world. But IAI’s portfolio runs far broader — satellites, unmanned aerial systems, radar platforms, electronic warfare, and cyber systems. That diversity is part of why its backlog has grown so dramatically: virtually every segment of defense procurement is accelerating simultaneously across NATO members, the Indo-Pacific, and the Middle East, according to Calcalist Tech reporting on Levy’s public remarks.
European rearmament, driven by Russia’s continued war in Ukraine and NATO’s push toward two-percent-of-GDP defense commitments, has opened new procurement corridors for Israeli defense exporters. IAI has historically counted the United States, India, and several European nations among its largest customers. A conflict environment that has stress-tested air defense concepts in real time — and validated layered missile defense architectures — has made Arrow-class systems suddenly very attractive to governments that once considered them exotic and expensive. Backlogs do not grow to $35 billion by accident.
IPO Timing, Government Appetite, and What Comes Next
The core complication for any IAI public offering has always been political rather than financial. As a state-owned enterprise handling classified defense programs, IAI must navigate Israeli government approval at every step of the process. Past timelines slipped — sometimes by years — as political conditions, coalition governments, and interministerial negotiations stalled momentum. Levy’s “closer than ever” language is notable precisely because IAI’s leadership has historically been cautious about making public forecasts on listing timelines.
A successful IAI IPO would be a landmark moment for Israel’s capital markets and for the global defense sector. It would also arrive at a moment when defense-adjacent companies are attracting serious investor attention — from hardware manufacturers to dual-use technology firms. The Israeli tech ecosystem has already seen significant capital activity in 2026, as tracked in Future Wire’s ongoing coverage of Israeli funding rounds. Whether IAI’s listing lands on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, a dual listing with New York, or some other structure remains an open question — but with a $35 billion backlog and a CEO who is clearly signaling urgency, the process appears to have genuine momentum behind it for the first time in years.
