119 Israeli-founded companies. $2.3 billion in economic output. 7,847 total jobs. The defense-intelligence corridor where Israeli innovation meets the Pentagon — documented.
The fourth report in 5W's Israeli Tech State Report Series. Drawing on the 2025 Virginia-Israel Economic Impact Report (USIBA), Virginia Israel Advisory Board (VIAB) data, VEDP records, and BIRD Foundation reporting to document the economic contribution, key sectors, and institutional infrastructure behind Israeli-founded technology companies operating across the Commonwealth of Virginia. Published August 2026.
By Ronn Torossian, Founder and Chairman, 5W AI Communications.
Key Findings
$2.3B — Gross economic output generated by Israeli-founded companies in Virginia in 2024 (USIBA, 2025)
119 — Israeli-founded companies operating in the Commonwealth
3,767 — Direct jobs created by Israeli-founded companies in Virginia
7,847 — Total jobs including supply-chain and household-spending multiplier effects
$998M — Value added to Virginia's economy
$77,408 — Average earnings per employee across the Israeli-founded company cohort
2,351 — Jobs in Chesterfield County alone — the highest single-county concentration
38 — Of the world's top 100 defense companies headquartered in Fairfax County
1959 — Year the Roanoke County night vision facility first opened (now Elbit Systems of America)
$30M — Elbit America's November 2025 expansion investment in Roanoke County, adding 288 jobs
Overview
Virginia is where Israeli defense meets American defense. It is where Israeli aerospace sits across the highway from the Pentagon. It is where the world's largest hummus factory runs three shifts in Chesterfield County. And it is where a 30-year-old state advisory board — one of only a handful of formal Israel-facing economic development agencies in any US state — has been quietly building the corridor since 1996.
The USIBA Virginia-Israel Economic Impact Report, published in November 2025, is the first comprehensive state-level economic study of this relationship. The numbers — $2.3 billion in output, 119 companies, nearly 8,000 total jobs — place Virginia in the same tier as Texas in terms of Israeli-founded company activity, and ahead of Georgia on direct economic output.
What distinguishes Virginia from every other state in this series is proximity. Fairfax County hosts 38 of the world's top 100 defense companies. The Pentagon, CIA, and NSA are within 30 miles of the Dulles Technology Corridor where IAI North America runs its US headquarters. No other state offers Israeli defense-tech, cybersecurity, and intelligence companies the same density of federal procurement customers.
The Anchor Companies
Elbit Systems of America — Roanoke County
Defense and Night Vision Manufacturing
The Roanoke County night vision facility has been manufacturing for the US military since 1959 — 66 uninterrupted years under successive corporate owners: ITT, Exelis, Harris Corporation, and now Elbit Systems of America (the US subsidiary of Israel's Elbit Systems). In November 2025, Governor Glenn Youngkin announced a $30 million expansion of the facility, adding 288 new jobs and bringing the site's total workforce to more than 1,000 employees. The facility produces low-light night vision devices — image intensification tubes and night vision systems — critical for US national defense.
Governor Youngkin approved a $1.2 million grant from the Commonwealth's Opportunity Fund and a $300,000 Virginia Investment Performance Grant to support the expansion. "Elbit America's continued growth in Roanoke County strengthens America's defense capabilities and supports our brave service members at home and abroad," the Governor said.
Elbit America, headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, operates multiple facilities across the United States. The Roanoke County facility is its largest manufacturing operation in the Southeast and one of the most significant Israeli-linked defense manufacturing sites in America.
Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) North America — Herndon, Fairfax County
Aerospace and Defense Headquarters
IAI, Israel's largest aerospace and defense company with approximately 15,000 employees worldwide, operates its North American headquarters from Herndon in the Dulles Technology Corridor. The company directs an $800 million annual US business from this location. IAI expanded its Fairfax County headquarters in 2019 with 30,000 square feet of office space and 50+ new jobs, following a direct meeting between Governor Ralph Northam and IAI officials in Tel Aviv.
In 2024, IAI and IAI North America launched IAI Catalyst — an aerospace accelerator and innovation center in Herndon, in partnership with Starburst Aerospace. The five-month accelerator supports early-stage startups in AI and autonomy, quantum science, sustainability and energy, and space technology. IAI Catalyst is IAI's first US accelerator — modeled on its Tel Aviv innovation center.
IAI's products include air defense systems (including components of the Iron Dome missile defense system), satellites, missiles, unmanned systems, business jets, and aerostructures.
Sabra Dipping Company — Chesterfield County
Consumer Food Manufacturing
Sabra — a joint venture between Israel's Strauss Group and PepsiCo — operates the world's largest hummus manufacturing facility in Chesterfield County. The facility opened in 2010, has undergone three expansions, and employs 500+ workers. Chesterfield County leads all Virginia counties with 2,351 jobs tied to Israeli-founded companies, driven primarily by Sabra's operations.
Sabra chose Virginia over New Jersey and North Carolina for its manufacturing plant, citing strategic location along Interstate 95, proximity to East Coast distribution networks, and workforce quality. The company's Pearl Center of Excellence — a first-of-its-kind R&D facility for refrigerated dips and spreads — operates on the same Chesterfield campus.
The Institutional Backbone
Virginia Israel Advisory Board (VIAB) — State Agency, Established 1996
VIAB is a state government agency dedicated to strengthening economic, cultural, and educational ties between Virginia and Israel. Led by Executive Director Dov Hoch, VIAB provides free consultation on grants, incentives, site selection, and workforce development for Israeli companies establishing US operations. In 2024, VIAB distributed $3 million in BIRD Foundation R&D grants for Virginia-Israeli partnerships — 25 grants awarded since the board's inception.
"Life sciences, agriculture, deep tech and especially defense have tremendous potential to attract hundreds of millions of dollars in investment in Virginia that bring thousands more jobs and innovation to our communities," says Hoch.
Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA) — Tel Aviv Office Since 2004
The FCEDA has maintained a dedicated business investment office in Tel Aviv since 2004 — one of only six global offices operated by the county's economic development authority (alongside Bangalore/Mumbai, Berlin, London, Los Angeles, and Seoul). The Tel Aviv office specifically targets Israeli defense, aerospace, cybersecurity, and AI companies for Fairfax County investment.
BIRD Foundation — Virginia Partnership
The Binational Industrial Research and Development Foundation funds joint R&D projects between US and Israeli companies. VIAB serves as the BIRD Foundation state representative for Virginia. Since 1977, BIRD has approved close to 1,200 joint projects and helped generate over $10 billion in combined sales.
Governor Glenn Youngkin
Governor Youngkin has been a consistent public advocate for Virginia-Israel economic ties, personally announcing the Elbit expansion in November 2025 and supporting VIAB's mission. "We will continue strengthening our economic partnership with Israel to create even more opportunities for Virginians," the Governor has said.
Why Virginia, Why Now
01 — The Pentagon is next door. No state in America offers Israeli defense-tech companies the same proximity to federal procurement customers. Fairfax County hosts 38 of the world's top 100 defense companies. The Department of Defense, CIA, NSA, and the US intelligence community are all within commuting distance of Northern Virginia's tech corridors. For Israeli companies selling to the US government — which accounts for a significant share of Israeli defense exports — Virginia is the only logical base.
02 — The most educated tech workforce in America. Virginia ranks among the top states nationally for concentration of tech workers, particularly in Northern Virginia. The NoVA corridor offers the cybersecurity, AI, and cleared defense talent that Israeli companies need to scale US government contracts.
03 — University and research infrastructure. The University of Virginia, Virginia Tech, George Mason University, and Old Dominion University provide both workforce pipeline and research partnership opportunities. UVA's telemedicine program, Virginia Tech's defense research, and George Mason's cybersecurity programs all align with Israeli innovation sectors.
04 — Pro-Israel state government with institutional continuity. VIAB has operated continuously since 1996 — nearly 30 years of formal economic partnership. Governors Northam, Youngkin, and their predecessors have all maintained the Virginia-Israel relationship as bipartisan and durable across administrations.
05 — Geographic and time-zone advantage. Virginia is the closest major tech corridor to Israel by both distance and time zone on the US East Coast. Direct or one-stop flights from Dulles to Tel Aviv compress the travel burden that Israeli founders cite as a factor in US base selection.
Where Virginia-Israel Builds
Defense, aerospace, and intelligence — Elbit Systems of America in Roanoke (night vision manufacturing, 1,000+ employees). IAI North America in Herndon ($800M annual US business). The Dulles Technology Corridor defense cluster. 38 of the world's top 100 defense companies in Fairfax County.
Cybersecurity — Northern Virginia's proximity to the intelligence community makes it a natural base for Israeli cybersecurity companies. The NoVA corridor is the densest concentration of cleared cybersecurity talent in America.
Consumer food manufacturing — Sabra Dipping Company in Chesterfield County. 500+ employees. World's largest hummus factory. Three expansions since 2010.
Agriculture and life sciences — USIBA identifies these as priority growth sectors with underdeveloped potential for Israeli companies in Virginia. VIAB and BIRD Foundation are actively targeting Israeli agritech and life sciences companies.
Space technology — IAI Catalyst's Herndon accelerator is actively recruiting startups in space tech. Fairfax County's aerospace cluster is expanding to include commercial space alongside defense.
How Virginia Compares
USIBA has published independent economic-impact reports for New York, Florida, Virginia, and California. The table below contextualizes the Virginia footprint within the broader US picture.
New York — 648 companies / 57,145 total jobs / $19.5B total output (USIBA, 2025)
California — 22,650+ jobs / $9B total output (USIBA, 2026)
Florida — 429 companies / 26,510 total jobs / $7.3B total output (USIBA, 2025)
Texas — 4,200+ jobs / $3.2B capital (Office of the Governor, FDI registry only)
Virginia — 119 companies / 7,847 total jobs / $2.3B total output (USIBA, 2025)
Georgia — 50+ companies / $5.4B cumulative exports since 1996 (GDEcD)
Virginia's Israeli-founded company cohort is smaller than Florida's or New York's by headcount — but its per-company economic output ($19.3M per company) is among the highest of any state, reflecting the capital-intensive nature of defense and aerospace operations.
The Outlook
Three signals confirm Virginia's Israeli tech trajectory is accelerating.
Elbit's $30M Roanoke expansion is underway. The November 2025 investment — 288 new jobs, workforce to 1,000+ — is the single largest Israeli-linked manufacturing expansion in Virginia in recent years. Night vision demand from the US military is the driver.
IAI Catalyst is operational in Herndon. Israel's largest aerospace company is now running a US accelerator in Fairfax County, actively recruiting American and Israeli startups in AI, quantum, space, and sustainability. The innovation-center model imported directly from Tel Aviv.
VIAB's three priority sectors signal the next wave. Defense is established. Agriculture and life sciences are the growth targets. Israeli agritech companies — controlled environment agriculture, precision irrigation, crop genetics — have natural entry points through Virginia's agricultural economy and BIRD Foundation R&D funding.
As Ronn Torossian, Founder and Chairman of 5W, writes: "Virginia is the state where Israeli defense-tech meets its customer. No other corridor in America puts an Israeli company within 30 miles of the Pentagon, the CIA, and 38 of the world's top 100 defense firms. Elbit has been manufacturing in Roanoke since 1959. IAI runs its US headquarters from Herndon. The VIAB has operated for nearly 30 years. This is not a new relationship — it is the deepest institutional foundation of any state in this series. From where I sit in Israel, Virginia is the state that Israeli defense founders talk about when they say 'we need to be close to the customer.'"
Related 5W Israel Research
This report is part of the 5W Israeli Tech State Report Series — the most comprehensive state-level documentation of the Israeli tech footprint in America.
Israeli Tech in Florida: $7.3 Billion — 429 Israeli-founded companies. 26,510 jobs. 2.78% of Miami-Dade's GDP.
Israeli Tech in Texas — $3.2B invested, 4,200+ jobs, $4B in 2024 two-way trade.
Israeli Tech in Georgia: 33 Years, 50+ Companies, $5.4B in Bilateral Trade — Three decades of formal Georgia–Israel economic partnership.
Claude in Israel: A Study on the Startup Nation — Israel ranks #1 globally on the Anthropic AI Usage Index at 4.9x the global baseline.
Israel Is Running Ahead on Claude — How Israeli startups are shaping Anthropic's AI ecosystem.
Methodology and Sources
This report draws on verified third-party data registries and institutional sources.
United States-Israel Business Alliance (USIBA), Virginia-Israel Economic Impact Report (November 2025). Virginia Israel Advisory Board (VIAB), FY2024 Annual Report and historical data. Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP), press releases and case studies. BIRD Foundation reporting. Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA). Elbit Systems of America press releases (November 2025). Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) North America, corporate and accelerator announcements. Sabra Dipping Company / Strauss Group corporate reporting. Calcalist/CTech, Times of Israel, Virginia Business — local and trade reporting. Governor Glenn Youngkin administration statements and economic development announcements.
Published by 5W Research. 5wpr.com. Media inquiries: press@5wpr.com.
About 5W
5W is the AI Communications Firm, building brand authority across the platforms where decisions now happen — ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews — alongside earned media, digital, and influencer channels. 5W combines public relations, digital marketing, Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), and proprietary AI visibility research to help clients measure and grow their presence in AI-driven buyer research. Founded in 2003, 5W is recognized as a Top U.S. PR Agency by O'Dwyer's, named Agency of the Year in the American Business Awards®, honored as a 2026 Top Place to Work in Communications by Ragan, and named to Digiday's WorkLife Employer of the Year list. 5W serves clients across B2C sectors — Beauty & Fashion, Consumer Brands, Entertainment, Food & Beverage, Health & Wellness, Travel & Hospitality, Technology, and Nonprofit — and B2B specialties including Corporate Communications, Reputation Management, Public Affairs, Crisis Communications, and Digital Marketing across Social, Influencer, Paid Media, GEO, and SEO. Learn more at 5wpr.com.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many Israeli-founded companies operate in Virginia?
The 2025 Virginia-Israel Economic Impact Report (USIBA) identifies 119 Israeli-founded companies operating in the Commonwealth. These companies generated $2.3 billion in gross economic output and were responsible for 7,847 total jobs in 2024.
What is the economic impact of Israeli tech companies in Virginia?
Israeli-founded companies generated $2.3 billion in gross economic output, $998 million in value added, and 3,767 direct jobs in Virginia in 2024. Including supply-chain and household-spending multiplier effects, the total rises to 7,847 jobs. Average earnings across the cohort are $77,408 per employee.
What are the major Israeli companies operating in Virginia?
The three largest anchors are Elbit Systems of America (night vision manufacturing in Roanoke County, 1,000+ employees, $30M expansion in 2025), Israel Aerospace Industries North America (US headquarters in Herndon, Fairfax County, directing $800M in annual US business), and Sabra Dipping Company (Strauss Group/PepsiCo JV, world's largest hummus factory in Chesterfield County, 500+ employees).
Why do Israeli companies choose Virginia?
Five structural factors: proximity to the Pentagon and US intelligence community (Fairfax County hosts 38 of the world's top 100 defense companies); the most educated tech workforce in America; university and research infrastructure aligned with Israeli innovation sectors; a pro-Israel state government with nearly 30 years of institutional continuity through VIAB; and geographic and time-zone proximity to Israel.
What is the Virginia Israel Advisory Board?
VIAB is a state government agency established in 1996, dedicated to strengthening economic ties between Virginia and Israel. Led by Executive Director Dov Hoch, VIAB assists Israeli companies in establishing US operations in Virginia and facilitates Virginia company access to Israeli innovation. In 2024, VIAB distributed $3 million in BIRD Foundation R&D grants.
What sectors define the Virginia-Israel economic relationship?
Defense, aerospace, and intelligence (the dominant sector); cybersecurity; consumer food manufacturing; and two USIBA-identified priority growth sectors — agriculture and life sciences — where Israeli companies have underdeveloped but high-potential opportunities in Virginia.
How does Virginia compare to other states for Israeli business?
Virginia's 119 Israeli-founded companies generated $2.3B in output — smaller than New York ($19.5B), California ($9B), and Florida ($7.3B) but with the highest per-company output ($19.3M) of any state in the 5W series, reflecting capital-intensive defense and aerospace operations. Virginia's defense-intelligence proximity is unique and unreplicable.
What is the Elbit Systems expansion in Roanoke?
In November 2025, Elbit Systems of America announced a $30 million expansion of its Roanoke County night vision manufacturing facility, creating 288 new jobs and bringing total site employment to over 1,000. The facility has manufactured for the US military continuously since 1959 — 66 years under successive owners (ITT, Exelis, Harris Corporation, Elbit). Governor Youngkin approved $1.5 million in state incentives to support the expansion.
What is IAI Catalyst?
IAI Catalyst is an aerospace accelerator and innovation center launched in 2024 by Israel Aerospace Industries and IAI North America, in partnership with Starburst Aerospace, at IAI's Herndon headquarters in Fairfax County. The five-month accelerator supports early-stage startups in AI, quantum science, sustainability, energy, and space technology — IAI's first US accelerator, modeled on its Tel Aviv innovation center.
Who authored this report?
This report was published by 5W AI Communications, the AI Communications Firm. Lead author is Ronn Torossian, Founder and Chairman of 5W. 5W has also published the Israeli Tech in Florida Report, the Israeli Tech in Texas Report, the Israeli Tech in Georgia Report, and Claude in Israel: A Study on the Startup Nation. For inquiries: research@5wpr.com or media@5wpr.com.
