‘Israel’ to invest $110 bn in developing independent arms industry

• Prime Minister Netanyahu announced a $110 billion investment over the next decade to build an independent arms industry, aiming to reduce ‘Israel's’ reliance on foreign suppliers, including the United States.
• The "super-Sparta" approach seeks to turn ‘Israel’ into a self-reliant global power, with defense spending set to consume 16% of the 2026 budget to prevent supply bottlenecks caused by international arms restrictions.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that ‘Israel’ would invest $110 billion over the next decade to develop its own independent arms industry.

Much of the military equipment used by the ‘Israeli’ army comes from the United States, thanks to a longstanding defence cooperation deal between the key allies.

‘Israel’s’ military resources have been strained after two years of aggression, with some nations ceasing arm sales to ‘Israel’ in protest at the death toll in Gaza or imposing restrictions at different points of the war.

"I approved a total of 350 billion shekels over the coming decade to build an independent arms industry for the State of Israel," Netanyahu told a military ceremony at an air base in southern ‘Israel’.

"We want to reduce our dependence on any party, even on friends. The finest minds in our defense industries are hard at work developing weapons systems that will guarantee Israel's advantage on the battlefield of the future."

According to the US Congress, Washington provided $3.3 billion to ‘Israel’ in military funding and $500 million in missile defence cooperation in 2025.

But ‘Israel's’ leaders have indicated their intention to shift away from foreign suppliers.

In a controversial speech in September, Netanyahu said ‘Israel’ was becoming increasingly isolated and had to adopt a "super-Sparta" approach.

Following a backlash after the remark, the ‘Israeli’ leader later said he was referring to the “defence” industry, and that they had to become more self-reliant to avoid potential supply bottlenecks.

In his speech Wednesday, Netanyahu said developing the country's arm industry would boost its security.

"We have established our status as a regional power -- and in certain fields, as a global one. This brings many other countries closer to us. Peace is made with the strong, not with the weak," he said.

In 2026, ‘Israel’ will allocate about 16 percent of its public budget to “defence” – around $35 billion out of an overall budget of $208 billion, according to government data.