Israel to begin manufacturing aircraft munitions

Israel will soon begin to manufacture heavy bombs for the air force to overcome supply delays and establish independence in weapons development.

Leftist Ehud Barak, as chief of IDF staff and prime minister, touted a perverted doctrine by which Israel could depend on the United States for arms. Israel accordingly drastically reduced its domestic military production capabilities and nearly everything that it had produced domestically—from uniforms to rifles to bullets, to artillery and tank shells—was shut down and the contracts moved to the United States.

According to Israel Hayom, one of the most significant lessons Israel has drawn from the war is that it must manufacture and develop critical munitions for the IDF by itself.

Until now, Israel purchased many of its munitions from foreign countries, with emphasis on the United States, but now, according to the report, it has decided to develop and manufacture heavy-weight bombs for the Air Force, including one-ton bombs similar to the American MK-84, whose supply has been delayed for several months by direct order of the White House.

The development and production of the new bombs is expected to take between two and three years.

Concurrently, the Ministry of Defense is expanding the domestic production of additional munitions, including tank ammunition (of which there is a shortage worldwide) and 155mm artillery shells. Recently, the Ministry announced a series of mega-deals, including a 1.5 billion shekel deal with Elbit for the purchase of ammunition, and the establishment of a dedicated plant for this purpose at Ramat Baka.

Prior to that, the Ministry of Defense announced another deal with Elbit Systems, for the purchase of 815 million shekels worth of Iron Sting mortar shells - a precision mortar shell that combines laser guidance and GPS. Plans are being made to maintain minimal production lines over time, in order to preserve the ability to increase production in case of need.

Additional heavy armored vehicles will also be developed, including Merkava tanks and Namer and Eitan APCs, made more urgent by the intent to open a new division.

Prior to the war, armored fighting vehicles were being produced at a rate of about 24 per year, and now production would be stepped up. In addition, as soon as possible, a comprehensive rehabilitation and maintenance program would be undertaken for the armored fighting vehicles that had been used by the IDF in the war.

In addition, the IDF is awaiting the approval of the Cabinet Committee on Procurement for the purchase of a new F-15 squadron from the United States and new Rafael-class ships for the Navy.