I see a lot of underestimating/overestimating of Israel’s military so I did this thread on IDF’s current/future…imho Israel isn’t “weak” but it has nowhere near the capacity required (in troops & kit) for a genuine regional war….they won’t take Cairo or Istanbul or Tehran
IDF’s armored corps does have ~400 Merkeva IV’s & a few hundred Merkeva III’s & I/II which are being turned into the Namer APC’s….total combat troops at full mobilization are only ~82K & currently only ~40K are available which is a very small combat force in total
The Israelis are actually some of the best at upgrading older systems like the M60’s which they also did for the Turks w/ the M60T (Sabra) so I wouldn’t underestimate the amount of kit they have that’s in good condition be it MBT’s or APC’s
They modernized a bunch of their M48/M60 tanks to carry ATGM’s & so they tend to have a lot of good quality kit in reserve be it modernized M48/M60’s of different versions & Merkeva I/II/II’s as well
They have been converting a lot of their older Merkeva chassis to the Namer APC which comes in two versions w/ unmanned turrets the lightly armed version & the more heavily armed IFV/AFV version (see below)….they do plan on having ~400-500 of those by ~2030
This is the more heavily armed Namer although we haven’t yet seen too many of those quite yet….btw IRL it’s massive if you compare it to an M1113 which they have in the thousands & are converting some of them to unmanned vehicles @2023gazawar
For MLRS, they have ~50 US-made M270’s w/ Israeli-designed rockets like the RAMAM & Romach…..they’re also designing their own MLRS system called the PULS (see below) 🚀
This is PULS MLRS on the U.S.-made HEMTT vehicles those are modular launchers made by Elbit Systems @ElbitSystemsLtd they fire a wide range of munitions like Predator Hawk & EXTRA as well as copies of soviet 122m rockets…..available for export btw unsure how many IDF has
In artillery IDF has ~600 M109’s & maybe 300 or so towed Soltam howitzers & we do tend to see the M109’s used very frequently those are in the process of being phased out to be replaced by Israeli made kit as well
This is Israel’s newer SPG called the ATMOS 2000 it’s set to replace the M109’s & is available for export….again, unclear how many IDF will actually procure at this point interestingly it’s a wheeled system not a tracked one like M109’s
This is the Eitan AFV it’s another wheeled vehicle which is interesting given IDF historically is very much tracked based imo the increasing emphasis on wheeled systems implies that IDF doesn’t think of nor intend to fight a large ground war w/ the “Red Enemy”(Pharaohs)
IDF’s most potent branch is their Air Force it has ~75 F-15s, ~190 F-16s, and ~38 F-35s, that includes ~100 F16I & 25F15I which are longer range strike jets. IAF does also have many different US & Israeli made PGM’s/missiles etc interestingly I never see F15’s w/ AMRAAM’s
IAF appears to be focusing on ground strikes & they have been making long-range missiles like Lora & Sparrow which are basically smaller air launched ballistic missiles its their version of the Russian Kinzhal or Zircon
IAF’s future is mainly ~75 or so F35I’s which they may or may not increase to ~100…they’re also ordering F15EX which is better geared for Israeli operations w/ it’s heavier payload capacity (F35I doesn’t carry as many missiles/bombs)
IAF’s attack helicopters are the ~46 US-made Apache’s they also used to have those Cobra helicopters but they sold them despite them looking cool (I’d have kept them but whatever)
Israeli AD has 10 batteries of Iron Dome (40 launchers), 2 David’s Sling, 6 batteries of Patriot PAC-2, 3 batteries of Arrow II & III ABM system….imo nowhere near enough for a serious regional war if Israel fights alone w/ no USAF/RAF air defense support….no SHORAD either btw
Israeli navy has 3 Saar 5 & 3 Saar 6 made w/ the U.S. & Germany respectively….they’re actually pretty cool corvettes but I get the sense that Israel doesn’t rlly take the idea of fighting the quasi-rival Egyptian/Turkish navies too srsly b/c ~6 corvettes ain’t enough at all
Israeli Navy’s submarine force is much more interesting they have ~5-6 German-Israeli built subs that do carry cruise missiles & highly likely do carry some nuclear tipped missiles too which seems to be the point of those particular subs especially the newer ones
Israel does have a great defense industry but it’s heavily reliant on US components & funding & it’s unclear why ppl can’t understand that an Eitan APC is 60% or so made by a U.S. firm hence Israel rlly isn’t “self-reliant” or independent from US at all not in 2024 at least
Overall, Israel is extremely powerful for its size & limitations, but they srsly don’t have the capacity/demographics/geography/logistics/economics to fight any large war alone….they won’t ever get to Cairo, Istanbul, or Tehran is my point….
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