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When he was 14 his family emigrated from Lithuania to the USA, where he grew up, studied, and served in the United States Corps of Engineers (1944 – 1946). He was head of the Beitar Movement in the USA and member of the "Irgun" - IZL (1947 – 1948). In 1948 he immigrated to Israel. He was an aeronautics professor at the Israeli Institute of Technology (1957 – 1962). Later he was assistant director general at the IAI, where he oversaw major development projects, including the "Arava" and the Kfir fighter jet project (1962 – 1971). In 1971, Arens received the Israel Defense Prize.
Arens was chairman of the "Herut" party, and was elected as a Knesset Member from the "Likud" party in the years 1974 – 2003 intermittently. In 1982 – 1982 he was Israel's ambassador in the USA.
Arens served in various Israeli Governments as Minister of Defense (1983 – 1984; 1990 – 1992; 1999); as Foreign Minister (1988 – 1990) and as a minister without portfolio in charge of minorities (1984 – 1988).
In February 1983 he was first nominated as Minister of Defense after Ariel Sharon had been forced out of office following the Kahan Commission's report on the Sabra and Shatila massacre. As such he promoted the "Lavi" aircraft project, established the Ground Forces Command in the IDF, and promoted Israel's strategic relations with the USA. Following the "Bus 300 affair" Arens established the "Zorea Commission." In 1990, after the Labor Party's resignation from the government, Arens was appointed Minister of Defense for the second time (1990 – 1992). In this capacity, he was mainly busy with the preparations and the daily coping with the First Gulf War. In 1999 he became Minister of Defense for the third time, following Yitzhak Mordechai resignation from the government. During his service he initiated the reduction of the IDF presence in southern Lebanon, and the evacuation of some strong-points. After his retirement from political life, Arens served as head of the strategic forum in The Institute for Zionist Strategies, head of the Public Board Commemorating Zeev Jabotinsky, and as head of the board of trustees of Ariel University in Samaria.
In 1947 Arens graduated as engineer from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He earned his PhD in aeronautical engineering from the California Institute of Technology (1951 – 1957), while working for a jet engine development company.