Defense Minister Israel Katz said at an economic warfare conference that Israel is mobilizing its best experts to develop space-based strike platforms, asserting no country today has that ability. He framed the goal as a strategic imperative to secure a deterrent and attack advantage over adversaries with greater resources.
Defense Minister Israel Katz today (Thursday) said Israel is mobilizing its best experts to develop space-based strike platforms, marking the latest public elaboration in a thread he opened at the same conference earlier in the day. In his speech at the 'Economic Campaign' conference, Katz reiterated that no country currently possesses such capability and framed the initiative as a strategic imperative to secure a deterrent and attack advantage over adversaries with greater resources.
The thread began at 13:43 Jerusalem, when Katz first revealed the space-based strike ambition and a 350-billion-shekel defense budget boost over the next decade. Minutes later, in an interview with N12, he clarified the goal is global leadership in space-based deterrence and strike advantage — arguing that every dollar reaching Iran arms Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis. The current update, the third version published today, adds that Israel is now enlisting 'top minds' for the development effort, though Katz did not specify a timeline or technological benchmarks.
The Zioneer reported earlier this week (Wed Jun 24) that Prime Minister Netanyahu framed Iran's nuclear program as an existential priority, and that the security cabinet convened in an underground bunker on Jun 14 amid fears of Iranian retaliation. Katz's space-based push follows a broader strategic context in which Israel and the United States have moved from proxy conflict to direct kinetic warfare with Tehran, even as diplomatic talks continue.
What remains open: Katz provided no technical details on what the space-based strike platform would entail, how far along development is, or what budget has been specifically earmarked for it beyond the general defense budget increase. The claim that 'no country today has the ability to strike from space' is asserted but not independently verified in the minister's remarks.
6 developments
- DevelopingKatz: 'Whoever raises a hand against Israel will pay a price; we won't leave security zones'
- DevelopingIsraeli Defense Minister Katz responds to Turkish interior minister's remarks on Jerusalem
- StrongKatz: Israel will not relinquish gains in Iran negotiations
- DevelopingIsrael's Katz: Campaign against Iran far from over; IDF ready to strike Iran with great force
Source and signal
- Internal intake