Israel is embarking on a multi-billion-dollar plan to build an independent defense industry to counter potential weapons embargoes from the U.S. or European allies. “Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday Israel would spend 350 billion shekels ($110 billion) on developing an independent arms industry to reduce dependency on other countries,” Reuters reported.
In May 2024, while Israel was engaged in an existential war with the terrorist group Hamas, then-President Joe Biden threatened to impose a weapons embargo. Besides the U.S., Israel’s largest defense supplier, Germany, and Britain also stopped or restricted weapons exports in the midst of the Gaza war.
While Israel, with its extensive and longstanding military ties with the U.S., may not achieve total self-sufficiency in the area, the country seeks reduce its reliance on foreign arms suppliers, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserted.
“Our goal is to build an independent arms industry for the State of Israel and reduce the dependency on any party, including allies,” Netanyahu said at an Air Force event.
“We will continue to acquire essential supplies while independently arming ourselves,” he added. “I don’t know if a country can be completely independent but we will strive … to ensure our arms are produced as much as possible in Israel.”
The Times of Israel reported details of the plan:
Israel is working to gain as much independence as possible in its weapons production, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Wednesday, in a development he said was the result of the lessons learned during the past two years of war on multiple fronts.“I approved, along with the defense minister and finance minister, a sum of NIS 350 billion [$108 billion] over the next decade to build an independent Israeli munitions industry,” Netanyahu said in an address at a graduation ceremony for Israeli Air Force pilots.The move, he said, stemmed from a desire to “reduce our dependence on all players, including friends,” after allies including the US, UK, and Germany all imposed various restrictions on weapons sales to Israel since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack.Still, he noted, many countries around the world, including Germany, “want to buy from us more and more systems.”The premier has long been calling for Israel to develop its own self-reliant military industry, and in January 2024 announced that the government would invest in a “multi-year plan to free Israel from dependence on external purchases.”
In recent months, Prime Minister Netanyahu has been calling for self-reliance in defense production. On September 16, he said that Israel wants to “build an arms industry capable of withstanding “any kind of international political constraints.”
Despite threats of embargo and trade bans, the Israeli defense industry has grown at a record pace. As European countries seek to close the air defense gap amid a growing Russian threat, they look to Israeli manufacturers.
“Israel’s defense export figures for 2025 will not be published until mid-2026, but defense sources estimate that volumes will be at least similar to those of 2024, when Israeli arms companies set an all-time record with exports of approximately $14.8 billion,” Israeli technology newswebsite CTech reported Sunday. “The latest major defense deal was signed last Thursday, worth $3.1 billion, under which Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) will supply the German Air Force with Arrow 3 missile systems.”
Armed Forces across the world also seek cooperation with the Israeli military, which just fought a multi-front war, ranging from close-quarter urban warfare to long-range aerial operations.
In November, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) hosted top military officials from the U.S. and other allied nations to brief them on combat capabilities developed and honed in recent years. The IDF said in a statement that “more than 100 senior military representatives from 19 countries” came to learn about “most significant capabilities and tactics the army has developed over the past two years across various combat arenas.”
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