Israel advancing multiyear military space plan, Defense Ministry reports

Now I have enough material to write a well-sourced article.I now have sufficient sourcing to write the article.Word count is within range. Now let me finalize with proper citation tags.Israel's Defense Ministry is moving forward with a multiyear budget plan to expand the country's military footprint in space, including funding for offensive capabilities such as weapons that could strike targets on Earth from orbit, The Jerusalem Post reported.

The plan includes upgrades to existing capabilities, including expanded intelligence collection from space and improved communications systems, with a dedicated budget allocated for offensive space activity as part of a broader effort to strengthen Israel's position in the space domain. The first area is the expansion of IDF intelligence collection capabilities from space through multiple layers, allowing operations around the clock, in all weather conditions and across multiple locations simultaneously, while the second area involves establishing broad, resilient, and continuous communications capabilities for the defense establishment. In addition, a dedicated budget will support offensive space operations focused on two main areas: weapons designed to protect Israeli satellites from hostile satellites, and weapons capable of striking targets on Earth from space, both to defend the Israeli home front and to strike hostile actors.

To advance these efforts, the Directorate of Defense Research and Development (MAFAT), the IDF, and Israel's defense industries are engaged in a planning and development process. One factor accelerating the process is Operation Roaring Lion, during which the Defense Ministry and the IDF expanded their use of satellites to gather precise intelligence from space, strengthening their ability to build target banks during the war. Defense Minister Israel Katz has argued in closed forums that the space domain requires a major, rapid upgrade to create an advantage over enemy states and position Israel among the world's leading space powers.

Katz has also spoken publicly about the space push in recent months. According to Calcalist's Ctech, Katz unveiled an ambitious plan to develop offensive space capabilities while warning the military is preparing for renewed conflict with Iran. The outlet reported that Katz said Israel is investing heavily in developing both offensive and defensive capabilities in space, including what he described as "powerful laser beams," with the aim of placing the country among the world's three leading military powers in the field, and quoted him saying that achieving this "will ensure the advantage of deterrence, of the ability to attack, destroy, and all of the other matters, versus our enemies with large resources." A related Jerusalem Post account of the briefing quoted Katz saying, "As of today, no country has the ability to mount attacks in space."

The reported plan builds on groundwork Israeli officials say was laid during recent conflicts. JNS reported that according to the Israeli Ministry of Defense, Israeli satellites surveilled hundreds of thousands of square kilometers of Iranian territory daily throughout the campaign, generating tens of thousands of satellite images that guided strike planning, enabled immediate battle-damage assessments after each wave, and served as a critical early warning system for the home front. The Jerusalem Post separately reported that MAFAT's space office chief, Avi Berger, said "the war with Iran has further sharpened our understanding that we must dramatically increase investment in developing and maintaining Israeli superiority over our adversaries in space," and that he committed Israel would, "in the coming decade, invest billions in deploying a satellite constellation that will allow us to maintain persistent, simultaneous" coverage.

The push also comes against the backdrop of a broader IDF five-year plan. The Jerusalem Post reported that the plan, spearheaded by IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, includes groundbreaking advances in AI, robotics, and space defense, and that the plan, dubbed "Hoshen," will be led by IDF Planning Directorate chief Maj. Gen. Hidai Zilberman and will cover the years 2026-2030. On the space component specifically, the outlet reported that the IDF said it will be necessary to develop a range of new capabilities and operations, indicating the military will invest across multiple new space-related fronts, and noted that Iran recently launched additional satellites into space with Russian assistance, a growing trend causing fear among Israel and the West about these countries reducing prior advantages by Jerusalem and Washington in those areas.

No timeline or specific budget figures for the offensive space program have been made public, and the Defense Ministry has not released a detailed breakdown of individual projects, according to the reporting reviewed. Israel's own Defense Ministry describes its space program's origins on its website, noting that the Space and Satellite Administration was established in the 1980s to address Israel's operational needs and to advance its space program, and that Israel was the seventh country in the world to achieve full capabilities in the space domain and today is one of only twelve nations in the world with such abilities. The reported push reflects a wider trend of militaries treating orbit as an operational domain, with officials in multiple reports linking Israel's expanded ambitions directly to lessons from its recent wars with Iran. It remains unclear when the Defense Ministry's expanded space plan will be formally finalized or how its costs will be allocated within Israel's wider defense budget.