U.S. drawdown in Iraq, Afghanistan dents Israeli arms exports

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel's defense exports dropped by almost 13 percent in 2013 as the United States and its allies drew down forces in Iraq and Afghanistan and other foreign buyers trimmed procurement budgets, Israeli officials said on Tuesday. Israeli arms firms, many of them state-owned, sell some 80 percent of their products abroad - income which helps support the annual defense budget of around $18 billion. Defense exports totaled $6.54 billion in 2013, the Defense Ministry said, compared to $7.47 billion in 2012. The decline was attributed to "the trend of tightening defense budgets and big procurement programs in core markets, headed by the United States and Europe". "The exit of coalition forces from Iraq and Afghanistan increased the reduction in demand for defense systems," the ministry said, listing plane upgrades, avionics, radar systems and drones among Israel's main defense exports. A defense official said exports had waned in recent years but that the latest drop-off was "especially significant". (Writing by Dan Williams; editing by Luke Baker)