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Israel Pivots to Self-Reliance on Homegrown Arms
(Israel Hayom) Lilach Shoval - Israel has drawn a crucial lesson from the Gaza war, the need to indigenously produce and develop critical weaponry for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Historically, Israel has sourced some of these armaments from foreign countries, primarily the U.S. It has now decided to develop and manufacture heavy bombs for the Israeli Air Force domestically, including one-ton bombs akin to those whose delivery has been stalled for months by the White House. The production of these new bombs is projected to take two to three years. The Defense Ministry is also broadening the domestic production of tank ammunition and 155mm shells. Defense Ministry Director General Maj.-Gen. (res.) Eyal Zamir said, "We are investing and will continue to invest tens of billions in building infrastructure and capabilities, expanding production lines, establishing new lines, and purchasing inventories to solidify production independence." Plans are also in place to increase procurement of armored fighting vehicles, including Merkava tanks and APCs, driven by the need to establish an additional new division.