Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israel is moving beyond satellite intelligence and toward combat capabilities from space, a field he described as politically sensitive and constrained by international agreements. He noted that the United States, China and Russia may have developed such abilities, but none has officially declared them.
Katz said the goal is one of the main targets he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have set. “The space is the place where the size of the territory you hold on the ground does not matter, the size of your population does not matter, and many other things do not matter,” he said. “Not only to be in space, not only to be able to defend what we place there and thwart what others place there, but to operate from there downward.”
He said that could include early disruption of enemy systems and kinetic attacks, including satellites carrying weapons that would release them for rapid strikes from orbit. Because of the speed gained during reentry through the atmosphere, such weapons would become even more destructive.
Katz said Israel is now recruiting “the best minds” and argued that no country currently has a space-attack capability. He said Israel should become the world leader in the field, because that would provide an edge in deterrence, striking power and destruction against enemies with greater resources. Israel first became the ninth country to build and launch its own satellite in 1988, launching the country’s Ofek reconnaissance satellite program. The domestic space sector is led by Israel Aerospace Industries, while Rafael and Elbit have also demonstrated satellite-building capabilities in recent years.
