The Defense Ministry has decided to stop buying defense equipment from France and shift procurement to other suppliers in Europe and elsewhere after Paris imposed an arms embargo during the Gaza war that remains in effect, ynet learned on Tuesday.
The move reflects a broader Israeli effort over the past 18 months to reduce dependence on foreign defense suppliers, a push led by Defense Minister Israel Katz and ministry Director-General Amir Baram.
Officials said billions of shekels have been invested in expanding domestic weapons production, although they acknowledged that complete self-sufficiency is unlikely.
France has publicly said its embargo is tied to the war in Gaza. At the same time, France’s defense industry competes with Israeli firms in some sectors.
Yeah, good for France and France is no small loss.
One only need to look at how major of a role the Caesar and then Bohdana (which was heavily inspired by the Caesar) has played in the Ukraine War to see how decisive of a power France is.