Israel is seeking to increase its defense sales to Europe as NATO members involved in Afghanistan show growing interest in Israeli technologies, local daily The Jerusalem Post reported Thursday.
Defense officials were quoted as saying that there would be growing interest among NATO members for Israeli technology that dealt with improvised explosive devices (IED), thanks to Israel's leadership in both passive protection, such as armor, and active protection, such as systems that can jam IED detonator signals, Xinhua reported.
"The expansion of the war in Afghanistan opens a door for us," the report quoted a defense official, who declined to give his name, as saying.
Meanwhile, the NATO-U.S. plan to deploy a cross-continent missile shield in Europe also represents an opportunity for the Jewish state to market its military platforms, added the report.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates recently said Israel's Arrow anti-missile system would likely be part of the missile umbrella, as the Arrow 3 system boasts advanced capabilities and costs relatively less.
The Defense Ministry's Foreign Defense Assistance and Defense Export Organization convened a meeting several weeks ago, when top defense officials discussed the need to create partnerships with European companies that can be used as a platform to sell Israeli hardware, according to the newspaper.
Meanwhile, recent months have seen several senior NATO officials travel to Israel for discussions that reportedly focused on, among other things, how Israel could help NATO troops fight in Afghanistan.