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Security cooperation

What has happened since 2020, with sources. Figures show change over time, not cause.

Draft, under review: this content has not yet been approved for publication.

Overview

This page lists only publicly reported and official items. Israel signed defence MoUs with Morocco (November 2021) and Bahrain (February 2022), and the Negev Forum set up a Regional Security working group in 2022. Between the UAE and Israel, cooperation is visible mainly through company agreements announced at defence shows, such as the EDGE–IAI unmanned vessel partnership.

Much security cooperation is not public, and we do not speculate about it. Where an item rests on press reports citing unnamed sources rather than an official statement, it is labelled as such.

Key numbers

2 (Morocco 2021, Bahrain 2022)Israel defence MoUs signed with Accords states2021–22 [1]⚑[2]⚑

Timeline

  1. Israel Aerospace Industries takes part in IDEX in Abu Dhabi for the first time. [3]

  2. IAI and EDGE announce a strategic agreement on counter-drone technology. [3]

  3. EDGE and IAI agree to co-design unmanned surface vessels and open an IAI maintenance centre in the UAE; Israel attends the Dubai Airshow for the first time. [4][3]

  4. Israel and Morocco sign a defence MoU covering intelligence, industrial collaboration and military training. [1]⚑

  5. The Negev Forum sets up a Regional Security working group. [5]

  6. Israel and Bahrain sign a security MoU covering intelligence, exercises and defence-industry cooperation. [6]⚑[2]⚑

  7. Reuters, citing sources, reports Israel agreed to sell the SPYDER air-defence system to the UAE (not officially confirmed). [7]⚑

  8. BlueBird Aero Systems says it is supplying WanderB and ThunderB drone systems to the Moroccan army. [8]

  9. UAE and Israeli cyber authorities present the 'Crystal Ball' threat-sharing platform. [9]

Country highlights

UAE

No public bilateral defence MoU found. Company-level agreements (EDGE–IAI, 2021) and cyber cooperation are public; a 2022 air-defence sale was reported by Reuters but not officially confirmed. [4][9][7]⚑

Bahrain

Security MoU with Israel, 3 Feb 2022. [6]⚑[2]⚑

Morocco

Defence MoU with Israel, 24 Nov 2021; Israeli firm BlueBird supplying drone systems to the Moroccan army (2022). [1]⚑[8]

Sudan

Data in progress

Israel

Counterpart in the Morocco and Bahrain MoUs and the Negev Forum security group. [1]⚑[2]⚑[5]

Kazakhstan

Data in progress. Kazakhstan announced it would join the Accords in November 2025; it has had relations with Israel since 1992. No sector-specific cooperation sourced yet. [10][11]

Flagship projects

Israel–Morocco defence MoU

Framework for intelligence, industrial collaboration and military training.

Partners
Israel MOD; Moroccan government
Date
24 Nov 2021
Status
Signed

[1]⚑

Israel–Bahrain security MoU

Framework for intelligence, exercises and defence-industry cooperation.

Partners
Israel MOD; Bahrain
Date
3 Feb 2022
Status
Signed

[6]⚑[2]⚑

EDGE–IAI unmanned surface vessels

Joint design of modular unmanned vessels for military and commercial uses.

Partners
EDGE / ADSB (UAE); Israel Aerospace Industries
Date
18 Nov 2021
Status
MoU announced; production status data in progress

[4][3]

IAI electro-optics maintenance centre in the UAE

Maintenance and local marketing of IAI EO/IR payloads.

Partners
EDGE; IAI
Date
18 Nov 2021
Status
Agreement announced

[4]

BlueBird drones for Morocco

Supply of WanderB-VTOL and ThunderB-VTOL systems.

Partners
BlueBird Aero Systems (Israel); Royal Moroccan Armed Forces
Date
Sep 2022
Status
Company says selected supplier

[8]

Negev Forum Regional Security working group

Multilateral working group.

Partners
Bahrain, Egypt, Israel, Morocco, UAE, US
Date
2022
Status
Established

[5]

Challenges

  • Most defence cooperation is confidential; we list only official statements and named-company announcements.
  • Arms transfer volumes are not shown until SIPRI data links are re-checked. [12]
  • After October 2023, Bahrain said its ambassador had returned from Israel; Israel said relations were stable. [13]

What to watch

  • SIPRI Arms Transfers Database updates for Accords pairs.
  • Official announcements at IDEX, the Dubai Airshow and Marrakech Air Show.
  • Any reconvening of the Negev Forum working groups.

Sources

  1. Israel MFA / MOD, 24 Nov 2021: Israel–Morocco defence MoU link being re-checked
  2. AP, 3 Feb 2022 link being re-checked
  3. Defense News, 18 Nov 2021
  4. The National, 18 Nov 2021: EDGE and IAI unmanned vessels
  5. US State Department archive: Negev Forum Steering Committee
  6. Times of Israel, 3 Feb 2022 link being re-checked
  7. Reuters exclusive, 22 Sep 2022 (citing sources) link being re-checked
  8. BlueBird Aero Systems release, 25 Sep 2022
  9. The Circuit, 28 Jun 2023: 'Crystal Ball' platform
  10. US Embassy in Kazakhstan: A New Era in U.S.–Kazakhstan Relations (Nov 2025)
  11. NPR / AP, 7 Nov 2025
  12. SIPRI Arms Transfers Database
  13. The National, 2 Nov 2023: Bahrain parliament statement

Sources checked on 27 Oct 2026. Figures show change over time, not cause. ⚑ marks a link being re-checked.