Haaretz reports: Israel is the world’s largest exporter of unmanned aircraft, in terms of the number of systems sold, a study has found.

Over the last eight years Israel has exported $4.6 billion worth of unmanned aerial vehicles, according to a study by the business consulting firm Frost & Sullivan.

UAVs, or drones, constitute nearly 10 percent of Israel’s total military exports.

Unmanned equipment exports are a relatively volatile market, the report shows.

Israel had $150 million in UAV exports in 2008, a figure which increased substantially in 2009 to $650 million. Exports of the small surveillance planes peaked in 2010, a record year for drone sales, to $979 million.

Sales since dropped off: In 2011, exports of UAVs slumped to $627 million, and in 2012 they declined further to $260 million.

Frost & Sullivan notes that this last figure does not factor in a major deal signed with India for the upgrade of unmanned aircraft. If that deal were to be included, it would boost the average annual export figures in the sector by about $100 million.

Israel’s average overall military exports over the past eight years have been about $6.1 billion a year. UAVs constituted about $578 million of that figure. [Continue reading…]