Defense Ministry replenishes ammunition depleted in 2014 war with NIS 1.75b contract

Contract will replenish stock, depleted since 2014 war.

By ANNA AHRONHEIM
IDF SOLDIERS stand next to ammunition and a mobile artillery unit near the border with Syria last year. (photo credit: REUTERS)
IDF SOLDIERS stand next to ammunition and a mobile artillery unit near the border with Syria last year.
(photo credit: REUTERS)
The Defense Ministry has signed a significant multi-year purchase agreement with IMI Systems (formerly Israel Military Industries), it was revealed on Sunday.
The ministry’s Procurement and Production Directorate will purchase NIS 1.75b. of ammunition systems from the company, which is currently based just north of Tel Aviv, by 2025.
“The new agreement supports the IDF’s training program for the years ahead and will ensure the economic security for realizing government’s decision to transfer IMI Systems’ facilities from Ramat Hasharon to the Negev,” a statement from the company read.
The seven-year agreement is scheduled to begin in 2019 with an annual purchase of NIS 250m. It will provide ground force and infantry units with various types of ammunition and will allow the IDF to completely restock supplies which were severely depleted during Operation Protective Edge in 2014, as well as support its training program for the next 10 years, as part of the army’s multi-year Gideon plan.
“During the negotiations, we have insisted that the agreement with IMI Systems will yield as many benefits as possible, to both the Israeli defense operation and economy,” stated Defense Ministry head of acquisition Shmuel Tzuker.
“On the one hand, the agreement will ensure a supply of ammunition to the field units of the IDF decade ahead, and on the other hand it will provide a livelihood for thousands of employees, support the plan of transferring the company’s plants from Ramat HaSharon to the Negev and will allow the construction of thousands of housing units in the center of the country,” he said.
IMI Systems is slated to move their main plants to Ramat Beka by 2022, as part of the agreement, which will last until 2025, in order to ensure maximum financial benefits for the company.
According to Avi Felder, the company’s CEO: “The enormous deal reflects the strong confidence of both the Ministry of Defense and the IDF have in IMI Systems’ combat-proven weapons solutions. IMI Systems is proud of its capabilities to provide the IDF with combat solutions specifically optimized for its unique operational needs, which are developed and manufactured by the company’s employees all over the country, including the company’s plants in the geographic periphery.”