Defense Minister Bennett approves IDF’s Momentum multi-year plan

Defense Minister Naftali Bennett approved on Sunday the IDF’s multi-year Momentum plan formulated by IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kochavi following a series of in-depth meetings with senior IDF and defense establishment officials.

The plan, which deals with the challenges facing the IDF in the coming decade, was presented to Bennett by Kochavi, Deputy Chief of Staff Maj.-Gen. Eyal Zamir, the Head of the IDF’s Planning Directorate Maj.-Gen. Amir Abulafia and other senior officials.

Following the approval of the Minister of Defense, the Political-Security Cabinet is expected to approve the plan at its upcoming meeting. It will then be presented to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

In the meantime, Bennett approved a series of decisions to increase the IDF’s readiness in various arenas including purchasing weapons, developing new capabilities, improving training, organizational structure of the military, conditions in the IDF and others.

“The ‘Momentum’ plan is intended to produce a more flexible, smarter and deadier IDF. At the heart of the plan is the principle of defeating the enemy quickly and powerfully, in the face of many complex arenas,” Bennett said, adding that the plan will allow the IDF to increase its advantage of its enemies.

“The plan exploits the strengths of the State of Israel, with a sober look at the challenges and risks, most notably the Iranian threat. We will not flinch, on the contrary. We will continue to operate, anytime, anywhere.”

Meanwhile, Israel’s Defense Ministry said on Sunday afternoon that some NIS 11.6 billion has been purchased from Israeli companies over the past year to increase the IDF’s lethality.

According to a release by the Defense Ministry, hundreds of millions of shekel have been diverted to purchase weapon systems to increase the military’s lethality as part of the IDF “Momentum” multi-year plan which focuses on improving the military’s defensive and offensive capabilities.

Among the most prominent procurement projects carried out by the ministry over the past year includes weapon systems for the new Sa’ar 6 missile ships, active protection systems for the Eitan armored personnel carrier, ammunition for infantry units, as well as technological projects for the IDF’s “digital army” program and more.

The majority of the acquisitions- NIS 3.8 billion-was for the military’s ground forces, some NIS 2 billion to for communication and intelligence, followed by an estimated NIS 1.9 billion spent on logistics and another NIS 1.9 billion for the Air Force and Navy.

“We’ve concluded a very challenging year with a successful bottom line for the Israeli economy,” said Avi Dadon, Deputy CEO and Head of Procurement at the Defense Ministry. “We have succeeded, despite a long and financially complex period, in meeting most of the tasks and laying the foundations for the realization of the [IDF’s] Momentum plan and the changes that the IDF Chief of Staff is leading.”

The guiding principle for the Momentum multi-year plan is to win any future war as quickly as possible and will see the military use new concepts and methods of warfare which have been adapted to the challenges of the urban battlefield saturated with enemy fire.

Last week Army Radio announced that Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon and Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi agreed that the IDF will receive an additional NIS 2 billion in order to kick start the military’s Momentum multi year defense plan.

The amount was reportedly agreed upon Sunday after Kahlon, Kohavi, Defense Minister Naftali Bennett and Deputy Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir met with Accountant General Roni Hezkiah.