On 24 November 2024 the Israel Military Procurement Ministerial Committee approved several major acquisitions, including Project ‘Reshef’ – the programme to provide the Israeli Navy’s next-generation missile corvette – and hundreds of new Joint Light Tactical Vehicles (JLTVs).
The approvals, which were detailed in a joint statement from the Israeli Ministry of Defense (IMOD), Israeli Prime Minister’s Office and Israeli Ministry of Finance, follow interim recommendations by the ‘Nagel Committee’, which was established to examine the Israeli defence budget and force build-up.
Under the agreement the IMOD will acquire five advanced Reshef-class missile corvettes from Israel Shipyards. These will replace the Israeli Navy’s eight Nirit-class Sa’ar 4.5-class missile corvettes, which will be decommissioned after four decades of service. The domestic production of these vessels will employ hundreds of workers in Israel.
The Reshef-class corvettes will be heavily-armed 1,000-ton-displacement patrol vessels equipped for combat operations as well as maritime security in Israel’s exclusive economic zone and the protection of critical infrastructure in territorial waters. Israel Shipyards was awarded a contract for the detailed design of the Reshef class in August 2021.
Additionally, the committee approved the procurement of hundreds of new US-supplied JLTVs, which will equip the Israel Defense Forces’ (IDF’s) manoeuvre forces in the coming years. JLTVs are already operational with the IDF after the IMOD placed two orders with Oshkosh Defense for the vehicles at the end of 2023. A total of 75 JLTVs were purchased via the US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) regime and dozens more were purchased via Direct Commercial Sale (DCS).
Following the outbreak of conflict that began with the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, the Nagel Committee was established to review defence acquisitions and an IDF force build-up. The decisions made on 24 November thus reflect the Israeli government’s comprehensive reassessment of its military procurement priorities.
The approved projects will now be submitted to the Knesset’s Joint Committee for the Defense Budget. After receiving its approval, the IMOD will proceed with finalising the procurements.
