The Jerusalem Post reports Israel expects to reach mass production of a domestic Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) within two years. Under then-defense minister Yoav Gallant and recommendations from the Turkel committee, Israel began scaling up ind

2026-07-16

The Jerusalem Post reports Israel expects to reach mass production of a domestic Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) within two years. Under then-defense minister Yoav Gallant and recommendations from the Turkel committee, Israel began scaling up indigenous bomb production at end-2024. Israel has been highly dependent on US supplies of such munitions, especially in crises; the Biden administration partially froze some arms transfers in May 2024 over disagreement about the IDF incursion into Rafah. The program, originally aimed at greater autonomy for unguided bombs, accelerated and expanded in 2025–26 to include production of JDAM-style smart bombs, which the report says will materially change Israel’s operational capabilities.