Israeli Military and Economy

Israel’s land area is only 27,000 square kilometers among the world’s big family, and its population is less than 5 million. However, its military strength and war potential are beyond the reach of any thoughtful strategist. Dare to look down upon. There are 178,000 regular troops alone, and there are hundreds of thousands of reserve troops. For decades, the confusing and war-torn Middle East has made Israel a "military power" in the region and stimulated the development of its military industry and arms trade. At present, the military industry has become a pillar industry of Israel's national economy. Bank of Israel Governor Moses Mandelbaum once said: "With serious foreign debt and inflation, there is only one factor that saves Israel from bankruptcy, and that is exporting arms to earn US dollars." In recent years, Israel has made an average annual profit in the world arms trade market Amounting to about US$1 billion.

The military industry system is “complete”

Due to the needs of the war, the Israeli military industry started very early (in the late 1950s and early 1960s). At that time, it could only produce some small arms, modifications and Repair some weapons and equipment. In 1967, after the famous "June 5th" war, the huge demand for military products drove the rapid development of Israeli military industrial enterprises. By the mid-1980s, Israel had formed a relatively complete military scientific research and production system. There were more than 250 companies engaged in the development and production of weapons and equipment across the country, and companies such as the Israel Military Industries Corporation, the Israel Arms Development Authority, and the Israel Aircraft Corporation had emerged. Industrial Corporation, Rafael Corporation, Israel Shipyard and more than a dozen large-scale and world-famous military industrial enterprises. These military-industrial enterprises cover the production of almost all military products, from military scientific research to weapons production, from various military aircraft, tanks, ships to electronics and communication equipment, and employ nearly 80,000 people.

Israel’s military industry includes three categories: state-owned (accounting for 80%), private companies and joint ventures with the United States, Britain, France and other countries, and is jointly managed by the government and the Ministry of Defense. There are more than a dozen famous military-industrial scientific research institutions in Israel, such as the Rafal Arms Development Authority, Haifa Technical University, Weapons Research Center, Aeronautics and Astronautics Society, Wezim Institute (researching nuclear technology), etc. Among them, the Rafal Arms Development Authority is Israel’s largest military industry management agency and the most powerful weapons and equipment development and production complex.

There are about 150 arms production companies in Israel, the famous ones include Israel Military Industries Company, Soltam Co., Ltd., Mekavim Company, etc. Among them, Military Industries Company is the largest military industrial company in Israel. , which consists of 9 branches and 1 research institute including weapons, ammunition, chemistry, rocket systems, etc. There are 15,000 employees engaged in the production of weapons and equipment here.

The military aviation industry also has dozens of companies that produce various military aircraft such as fighter jets, reconnaissance aircraft, transport aircraft, and helicopters. Among them, fighter jets such as "Lion" and "Lion" are representative works of Israeli military aviation companies.

The missile and aerospace industry occupies a pivotal position in Israel's military industry, and is also the pillar for Israel to maintain its advantages in weapons and equipment over the surrounding Arab countries. Israel has thus become the eighth country in the world that can launch satellites and has the ability to produce various types of missiles.

Scientific research "incubation" is strong

Someone once described the shrewdness of the Jews as "the world's money bags are in the pockets of the Jews", and his words are not wrong at all. The harsh living environment has created a strong sense of worry among the Israelis. In order to seek military advantages and the instinct to settle down, by the late 1980s, Israel had formed a military industry system with well-staffed, advanced equipment and complete categories, and had the capabilities to It has the ability to develop and produce various types of light and heavy weapons, supersonic aircraft, medium tanks, combat ships, air-to-air and anti-ship missiles, electronic warfare equipment, various radars and other weapons and equipment. Among them, self-produced combat aircraft, missiles, tanks and artillery are close to or reaching the world's advanced level, and military avionics equipment, early warning aircraft, and unmanned aerial vehicles dominate the world's aviation weapons and equipment market. The annual military output value is between 2 billion and 3 billion US dollars, accounting for more than 40% of the country's total industrial output value.

In addition to meeting the needs of the domestic military, the weapons and equipment manufactured and produced by Israeli military industrial enterprises are also exported to more than 60 countries in the world in order to seek long-term development potential and enter a virtuous cycle of military production and sales. Exports amount to more than one billion US dollars.

The Israeli Aircraft Manufacturing Company is far ahead in the world in the manufacturing technology of unmanned reconnaissance aircraft, and can produce a full range of unmanned aircraft, including "Searcher", "Hound", "Heron" "Waiting for the most advanced reconnaissance aircraft. In 1998, Israel developed the latest "Sniper" short-range unmanned reconnaissance aircraft with a flight radius of 50-150 kilometers, an endurance of 6 hours, and a maximum flight speed of 176 kilometers per hour. In addition to unmanned reconnaissance aircraft, Israel has been developing unmanned attack aircraft in recent years. An anti-radar unmanned attack aircraft has been developed, carrying a 32 kilogram warhead, with a speed of up to 500 kilometers per hour, and can perform combat missions in various weather conditions.

The Israeli army has equipped more than a thousand of the world's latest main battle tank "Merkava" series independently developed by Israel. This tank uses a 140mm smoothbore gun as the main gun and is equipped with an active protection system.

In 1999, Israel's famous Rafal Arms Manufacturing Company announced to the world its latest work - the "Playboy" helicopter and vehicle-mounted anti-tank missile, which uses a tandem high-explosive The warhead can be launched from a ground platform or in the air from a helicopter; after launch, it can automatically seek and track until it hits the target.

Introducing "foreign aid" transnational operations

Since the 1990s, the political, military, and economic landscape in the Middle East has undergone tremendous changes. Iran, Syria and other countries are regarded as hostile countries by Israel. Its military strength has greatly increased, so Israel began to re-examine the national defense strategy and decided to increase military expenditures (more than 10 billion US dollars per year). While fully tapping the maximum potential of its own military industrial enterprises, it also strengthened cooperation with military industrial enterprises in the United States, Britain and other countries. ** *Together with the development of the most advanced weapons and equipment. In the process of cooperating with foreign weapons and equipment development companies, Israeli military industrial enterprises have mastered many of the most advanced weapons development technologies, which has greatly improved the modernization level of Israel's weapons and equipment, achieving the effect of borrowing "chickens" to lay "egg".

After Israel and the United States jointly developed the Arrow II missile defense system in 1986, since the 1990s, both parties accelerated the development process and successfully conducted several simulated interceptions of the Scud. Missile testing. This defense system includes radar, early warning and launch control, and Arrow II missile systems. It can search for incoming missiles within 500 kilometers and can track, monitor and intercept 14 targets at the same time.

In terms of naval equipment development, the Israeli naval scientific research department and the US Navy McMullen Shipbuilding jointly designed the "Saar 5" class light frigate. The ship is equipped with 11 missile launchers and 2 MK32 Triple torpedo launch tubes, one SH-2F, "Dolphin" or S-76N helicopter can be stored in the stern hangar. It can be seen that the ship has strong anti-ship and anti-submarine capabilities.

Based on the current situation, it is almost impossible to resolve all the ups and downs and complex Arab-Israeli conflicts in a "package" in a short period of time. The turbulent situation in the Middle East will continue for quite some time. To this end, Israel, known as the "Arsenal" in the Middle East, will continue to vigorously develop military-industrial enterprises and develop and produce advanced weapons and equipment to maintain regional military advantages and safeguard national security.