Israel launched its ongoing multi-front conflict almost three years ago with compromised domestic weapons manufacturing, shortages in key ammunition reserves, and no comprehensive funded strategy to safeguard local production lines, according to State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman in a report released Tuesday.

The investigation scrutinized Israel's efforts to maintain homegrown output of arms, essential raw materials, components, and supporting infrastructure vital to the defense sector and IDF operations.

Englman highlighted that during the previous two decades, vital local production of raw materials for munitions had eroded or disappeared entirely. Meanwhile, numerous production lines suffered decline due to inadequate orders and a shift toward more affordable imports from overseas suppliers.

These vulnerabilities intensified once the war erupted, the report noted. Surging IDF requirements for munitions and parts triggered export curbs or bans from various nations - even those considered allies - on weapons, materials, spares, and components. Compounding this, worldwide demand had spiked since the Russia-Ukraine conflict, straining global supply chains.

Procurement Goals Fell Short of Battlefield Demands

Audit findings revealed that as war loomed, IDF inventories for specific weapons lagged behind targets set for late 2024. In one instance, the goal itself failed to align with identified operational requirements.

From late 2016 through the war's onset, the Defense Ministry placed no orders for particular weapons systems, save for a single variant commissioned in June 2023 for 2024 delivery. Most procurements for another key type occurred only post-war start, per the comptroller.

Englman's analysis criticized the lack of a holistic, budgeted policy from political leaders prior to hostilities for upholding domestic arms self-reliance. Past defense ministers touched on fragments of the problem but neglected a thorough capability assessment, prioritization, full funding approval, or escalation to the National Security Council or prime minister.

The security cabinet similarly overlooked pre-war deliberations on arms independence or contingency stockpiling of materials and parts to ramp up local output in crises. The NSC offered no counsel to elevate the topic to cabinet level beforehand.

Internal Defense Ministry processes drew further rebuke. Capability inventories endorsed in 2021 and 2022 excluded IDF input and omitted exhaustive analysis of components, materials, and tech processes for Israeli-made weapons.

Consequently, defense authorities operated without a complete view of full domestic manufacturability for certain arms, associated costs, or priority rankings for capabilities.

Prior to conflict, no formalized Defense Ministry blueprint existed to mitigate foreign supply dependencies, such as scouting backup vendors, forging bilateral supply pacts, or amassing critical material reserves.

Views diverged sharply on battlefield impacts between the comptroller and IDF.

Englman concluded that insufficient local capacity and absent stocks of select weapons and materials bore tangible operational effects, slowing specific IDF maneuvers and heightening risks to troops in targeted scenarios.

IDF countered that fighting prowess remained intact, with no jeopardy to personnel from supply shortfalls. The force has sustained multi-arena combat for over two years, delivering record achievements, while implementing fixes for gaps and shortages.

The military emphasized its role in identifying and ranking operational needs, while procurement decisions and production oversight fall to the Defense Ministry.

Local Munitions Output Central to Defense Ministry Agenda

Responding, the Defense Ministry affirmed that homegrown munitions manufacturing anchors its strategy and tops priority lists.

Since war's dawn - especially in the last year - it has bridged long-standing deficits via a sweeping multibillion-shekel initiative for production autonomy.

The ministry detailed new facilities and line expansions across about 20 vital areas, partnering with defense firms. Emergency steps yielded production surges of hundreds of percent, via raw material oversight, bottleneck clearance, and workforce upskilling.

It is also driving accelerated local buying and maximized output for key parts under the prime minister- and defense minister-approved "Shield of Israel" buildup, totaling NIS 350 billion over 10 years.

This report emerges during sweeping post-October 7 reviews of Israel's security framework, featuring a NIS 350 billion multiyear plan with F-35 and F-15 expansions, alongside anticipated U.S. discussions on evolving aid into collaborative defense-tech ties.

Englman urged the security cabinet to weigh Nagel Committee proposals on budgets and force structure, particularly those boosting arms independence, infrastructure growth, and tech edges.

He pressed the Defense Ministry to heed recurring alerts on production line decay, jointly track vital lines with industry, and extend monitoring to raw materials.

Further, Englman advised the Defense Ministry, IDF chief, and deputy to allocate budgets, sources, and timelines for routine-era stockpiling of materials, long-lead goods, and phasing-out parts, enabling swift industry ramp-ups in crises.

Finally, he directed the Defense Ministry, IDF, and NSC to routinely refresh production mappings, prioritize and fund them, and integrate into cabinet multi-year planning.