what that arabs dont understand is that they can build, like they do, 1000s of tanks.. can video their armies etc etc..

israel has 400 top class jet fighters, upgraded almost yearly, a single f-16 can take care of 12 tanks.. , they fly minimum 4 toghever... they can block roads kill the first and last tanks reload and get the rest so easily since they control the skies.

not talking about the 1000 of israeli made AT missiles

about 70 attack helicopter (16 hellfires\Spike (israeli made) X 4)

than if all these fail to get the tank , 1100 merkava tanks (israeli made) are waiting......

so the answer is yes!

Israel can not afford to develop fighter equivalent to F35 because of qualified manpower need.

It is true that helicopter are more simple and affordable.

To replace aviation, drones , cruise missiles and ballistic missiles are affordable and cost effective solutions if fitted also with submunitions (smart or dumb depending use)..

However Israel would be still dependant on a free access to civilian technologies, components, materials and tools.

Under a embargo on dual use technologies like on COCOM list or Wassenaar Arrangement lists, Israel defense industry can not survive alone even Israel would have 15 million people. 

Israel is dependant for ever to a minimal western support.

Title

so what would you recommend in order to get around these issues?? would Israel have to invest more in research tech that can produce these components and materials???

It is a question of manpower.

Intelligence is distributed as a gaussian curve in the population and every country have a limited amount of people able to be good engineers.You are already at maximum as Israel(with Sweden) is the world country which have the biggest % of real engineers.More engineers in defense would mean less engineers in civilian industry whom exports are vital for Israel and trade balance.

To remove dependancy on USA on components and technologies, you would need to multiply by 3 your military R&D base which is impossible unless you extend by 3 your population by compelling Israelis women to have 6 children each for example.

You can not make plane like F35 unless you stop to design tanks and other items to shift ressources.

But you can make UAV, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles with conventional warheads (including smart or dumb submunitions) to substitute to aircraft in the future.

You can also extend service life of existin aircraft and modernize them with new systems.

 

doesn't IAI build some airplanes already....why don't they upgrade and build transport craft? This would add another level of independence.

Think bootstrap -  What usually happens is the local firm becomes an outsource contractor for an existing design - this reduces costs, grows your industry and allows your military/commercial arms to purchase locally supported aircraft.  The problem with a new system is just that - it has to compete on the market in its class against a large number of manufactuers spread over the globe.  Don't do that until you are ready because a loss will cut deeply and perhaps ruin a good aircraft maker.  IAI Dagger/Kifir and other remakes of the Mirage are a good example in the fighter field.

This thread assumes that American no longer supports Israel.

 

Israel is alone against 1.5 billion muslims.  Only an aggressive nuclear war can save Israel.  

 

Israel has the hydrogen bomb.   Has Israel produced enough plutonium to destroy its enemies?

 

Kent

est of 2-300 nukes -

1 big nuke on Aswan Dam= 80 million drowned Egyptians (96% of population on or near Nile) = slightly bigger than King Rameses and the Red Sea debacle = NO attacks on Israel.  Not a bad deterrent for a country with no declared Nukes. Egypt aint gonna get involved in something like this.  Geopolitical realities.

 

 

swhitebull - the Egyptians might intensely dislike the Israelis, but they're not stupid or suicidal - UNLIKE the Iranians.