AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): International restrictions on the supply of weapons, spare parts, and raw materials have become an operational threat to the Zionist regime's army.
The martyrdom of the head of the Israeli Air Force Equipment Department, reported by military correspondent Doron Kadosh of the Zionist regime's army radio, indicates that international restrictions on arms supplies are no longer merely a diplomatic or commercial dispute, but have become an operational threat. A threat that could even have grounded some aircraft.
According to a report by Al Jazeera, this crisis has also extended to spare parts for armored vehicles and bulldozers, ammunition and missile components, raw materials, and electronic equipment. Despite the Zionist regime's success in compensating for some of the shortages, Hebrew sources emphasize that the regime's arms independence will remain relative, as its aerial and ground systems are dependent on American and European supply networks that are difficult to replace quickly.
Kadosh, citing this military commander who retired after 35 years of service in the technical department of the Zionist regime's Air Force, wrote that countries that are signatories to the Rome Statute have informed the Zionist regime that they cannot provide the required parts for some aircraft, including antennas and electronic cards.
This commander said, "We could have reached a situation where we were forced to ground an aircraft due to a lack of spare parts."
The danger of these parts lies in the fact that their small size does not indicate their operational importance. The failure of a certified electronic card can prevent the operation of an entire system or keep the aircraft on the ground until the original part arrives or a tested alternative is certified.
The commander did not specify the countries or the aircraft for which each of these parts was needed, but acknowledged that the capabilities of the Zionist regime's Air Force depend on the supply of American parts for F-35, F-15, and F-16 fighters, and that a complete severance of this connection is not possible.
The F-35 fighter is particularly sensitive, as it is part of an international supply chain led by Lockheed Martin, and its critical components must be manufactured according to the manufacturer's specifications and approvals.
Shmuel Elmas, a military industry correspondent for Globes, explained in a report that Zionist regime companies produce some parts and subsystems for American aircraft, but the production of some specific parts does not mean the ability to manufacture all parts or replace the main support network.
Armored Vehicles and Bulldozers
This crisis has become more evident in the Zionist regime's ground forces. Yuval Azoulay, a military industry and army economics expert, in an investigation published in Calcalist, reported a widespread shortage of spare parts for American D-9 bulldozers.
Citing a military source, he wrote that one base has become a graveyard for bulldozers, as dozens of units have broken down due to a lack of regular parts supply. These bulldozers suffer severe wear and direct damage during military operations, and as a result, access to mobility parts and mechanical systems is essential for their continued operation.
Regarding Merkava tanks and Namer and Eitan armored personnel carriers, the Zionist regime produces the chassis and many of their systems domestically, but in the areas of engines, power transmission systems, and some electro-optical equipment, it remains dependent on foreign technology and suppliers.
The prolongation of the war has also increased the dimensions of this problem. The Zionist regime's Ministry of Defense announced on April 9, 2025, that the regime's armored vehicle fleet had traveled more than one million kilometers during the war. Within this framework, a contract worth 100 million shekels was signed with Ashot Ashkelon for the production of parts for 1,200 and 1,500 horsepower transmission systems, as well as suspension and propulsion systems for Merkava tanks and Namer APCs. These parts are to be supplied over five years.
Hidden Components
The arms embargo does not only begin with the final weapon, but starts with the materials that the Zionist regime's factories need to produce weapons.
A report by Matityahu Engelman, the Zionist regime's State Comptroller, published on May 12, 2026, showed that the regime has lost its domestic capabilities to produce certain raw materials used in the arms industry over the past two decades, and rebuilding halted production lines requires significant investment and a long time.
Engelman, who heads the official oversight body of the Zionist regime's government, said that dependence on imported materials during the war has endangered the lives of Zionist soldiers. He also criticized the fact that some vital capabilities and reserves had not been maintained.
According to Hebrew media reports, the weaknesses include special raw materials, electronic and optical components, and parts whose main producers have ceased production or whose supply may take months.
Yuval Azoulay, in an interview with Yoav Turgeman, CEO of Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, published on April 10, 2025, in Calcalist, quoted him as saying that some suppliers have explicitly refused to produce the parts needed by the company, while others have accepted orders but failed to deliver them on time.
A phenomenon has emerged here that can be called a silent embargo. This means that there is not always an official decision to impose sanctions, but rather a shipment is delayed, a contractor claims stock has run out, or the problem is attributed to a subcontractor.
The Embargo Map
Germany tops the list of sensitive suppliers to the Zionist regime due to its role in supplying submarines, ships, and torpedoes, as well as some armored vehicle parts, optical systems, and ammunition.
A report by Yedioth Ahronoth by Itamar Eichner, a diplomatic correspondent specializing in foreign relations, described Berlin's delay in processing Israeli requests for thousands of tank shells and other ammunition as a silent embargo. The report notes that a limited number of requests have been approved, while others remain pending without formal rejection.
The United Kingdom has also imposed restrictions on dozens of export licenses, the Netherlands has restricted the transfer of F-35 fighter components, and Spain, Canada, Belgium, Slovenia, and France have also taken measures ranging from suspending licenses and preventing shipments to restricting the participation of Zionist regime companies in arms exhibitions.
The impact of these measures is not limited to complete systems, as some of these countries are suppliers of raw materials, subassemblies, and components used in the production lines of the Zionist regime's arms industry.
This refusal is not only from Europe. Yuval Azoulay, in an interview published on December 30, 2025, in Calcalist with Haim Shtampler, CEO of Arit Industries and owner of Rifsh Technologies, quoted him as saying that a South Korean company for two years refused to supply a specific type of battery that is a key component of electronic detonator systems, citing the region of the Zionist regime as a war zone.
Shtampler added that his company responded by producing a domestic battery, which he claims is more reliable, and has also initiated a patent registration process.
Domestic Alternatives
The Zionist regime is pursuing four paths to address the shortages: shifting purchases to alternative countries, stockpiling parts that take a long time to supply, using political pressure and U.S. support on suppliers, and finally, reverse engineering and domestic production.
In an interview with Globes published by Shmuel Elmas on May 20, 2026, Oren Giber, a retired commander and former head of the Merkava and Armored Vehicles Directorate, said that over 70 percent of Merkava parts are produced within the Zionist regime, and development teams during the war have identified and produced domestic alternatives for parts that could not be purchased.
However, he acknowledged that domestic production of some parts is not economically viable.
The Zionist regime's Ministry of Defense also reinforced this process with another contract with Ashot Ashkelon on February 26, 2026. The contract was valued at over 130 million shekels and aimed to rebuild dozens of transmission systems. With this contract, the cumulative value of orders in this project reached approximately 253 million shekels.
The Zionist regime's Ministry of Defense also announced on March 25 that the value of its domestic purchases since the beginning of 2026 had exceeded 10 billion shekels. The ministry then, on April 23, signed a contract worth over 600 million shekels for the purchase of aerial munitions from Elbit Systems.
However, reverse engineering is not applicable to all parts. Mechanical parts, connectors, coverings, batteries, and some components that can be tested domestically can be replaced. But replacing complex engines, avionics systems, and encrypted software is very difficult or impossible.
As the war prolongs, the accumulated embargo on precise parts becomes a tool for eroding military readiness and increasing the costs of war. A situation that limits decision-making freedom and makes the continuation of military operations dependent on the continued flow of supply from foreign suppliers.
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