The Israeli Ministry of Defense (IMoD) signed a deal Thursday with Israeli military contractor Rafael to produce more Iron Dome missiles locally, using money from an $8.7 billion military aid package provided by the U.S.
The agreement is the first step toward greater Israeli independence from American weapons manufacturers, which proved to be an important vulnerability during the ongoing war, as it gave the Biden administration leverage to demand changes in Israeli military tactics that often shielded terrorists and exposed Israeli soldiers to greater risk.
While Rafael invented the Iron Dome, the actual missiles for the system have been manufactured in the United States.
The IMoD said in a statement:
The Director General of the Israel Ministry of Defense (IMOD), Maj. Gen. (Res.) Eyal Zamir, and Rafael CEO, Yoav Tourgeman, signed today (Thursday) the first contract under the U.S. aid package given during the recent war. The aid package, totaling $8.7 billion, was approved by the U.S. Congress in April of 2024 and includes a dedicated $5.2 billion allocation to strengthen Israel’s air and missile defense systems, including the Iron Dome Defense System, the David’s Sling Weapon System, and the high-powered Laser Defense System, currently in advanced stages of development.
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The Iron Dome Defense System, developed in Israel and produced in collaboration with the U.S. government, is designed to defend against short and medium-range rocket and missile threats and UAV threats. During the recent war, the system demonstrated exceptional performance, achieving outstanding interception rates and providing significant protection to the Israeli home front against rocket, missile, UAV, and cruise missile attacks. The system integrates groundbreaking technologies and is considered one of the world’s most advanced air and missile defense systems.
Rafael is the primary contractor for developing and producing the Iron Dome Defense System, in collaboration with ELTA Systems, a division of Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and mPrest Defense. The U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is a key partner in the production of components for the Iron Dome Defense System as well as in co-development and co-production of the Arrow Weapon System and the David’s Sling Weapon System. The strategic cooperation between MDA and the IMDO in the IMOD’s DDR&D ensures the technological superiority of Israel’s air and missile defense.
President Joe Biden threatened, and imposed, a partial arms embargo on Israel during the war after it defied his wishes and attacked Hamas within the city of Rafah, which sits on the Gaza-Egypt border. Israel did not cause large numbers of civilian casualties during the operation, as Biden and Vice President Harris had warned, but the lack of large guided bombs, used to destroy buildings in which terrorists have dug in, forced soldiers to enter those buildings.
The result, many Israelis believe, was a higher toll on soldiers, many of whom died in booby-trapped buildings.
Though support for aid to Israel is typically seen as a litmus test for pro-Israel politicians, some conservative Israelis have argued that Israel needs to wean itself from U.S. aid, for the sake of its own sovereignty. Many Americans are also tired to sending billions of dollars abroad, even to close allies.
Though the money for the Rafael deal still comes from the U.S., the agreement marks a revival of Israel’s domestic arms production industry, which lagged in recent years due to procurement deals with American suppliers. Some Americans urge the U.S. to take similar steps.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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