Military equipment of Israel


The military equipment of Israel includes a wide array of arms, armored vehicles, artillery, missiles, planes, helicopters, and warships. Many of these are purchased overseas and many are indigenous designs. Until the Six-Day War of 1967, the Israel Defense Forces' principal supplier was France; since then, it has been the United States government and defense companies. In the early 21st century, Israeli companies such as Soltam Systems began selling arms to the United States. Much of the military equipment undergoes improvements in Israeli workshops. In addition to weapons purchased overseas and indigenous products, Israel also operates and maintains large stockpiles of Soviet-made equipment captured from Arab armies over the course of the Arab–Israeli conflict.
, 2017

History

During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, the military equipment in the IDF was very diverse and inconsistent. This was due to the severe limitation in obtaining war materiel. During the 1950s, the IDF began the process of standardization, relying primarily on French military equipment.
During the Six-Day War, the military cooperation with France ceased and Israel began to rely on American weaponry and on local research and development. During the 1980s and 1990s, the IDF increased its supplies of American arms, armor and aircraft, aiming for technological superiority over Arab countries, toward "a smaller, smarter army".
The reliance on locally manufactured military equipment has also greatly increased. Today, the overwhelming majority of Israel's military equipment is either manufactured in the United States, or is developed and manufactured locally, with an increasing emphasis on advanced technology, including aerospace and electronics.

Local military development

Some of the military equipment developed locally have been:

Small arms

Rocket and grenade launchers

Missiles

Vehicles

Artillery

Air defense

Air forces equipment

Unmanned aerial vehicles

Below are the IDF's active service watercraft. The year of service, speed, full load displacement, and crew members, are in parentheses.

Missile boats