Government approves NIS 1 billion toward ‘urgent’ purchase of 12 Apache helicopters

The government conducted a telephone vote this morning to approve transferring nearly a billion shekels (over $300 million) in budget funds to the Defense Ministry for an “urgent classified procurement.”

The funds will go toward procuring a squadron of 12 Apache helicopters the Israeli Air Force has sought for several years. In January, the US approved the potential sale of the Apaches for $3.8 billion.

A draft resolution states that the government will cut money from the five-year plan for investment in Israel’s Arab society, including NIS 169 million ($55 million) in 2027, NIS 342 million ($111 million) in 2028, and NIS 453 million ($147 million) in 2029.

In recent weeks, there have been major budget disputes between the Defense Ministry and the Finance Ministry, with media reports, apparently stemming from briefings by defense officials, claiming that Israel had missed the deadline to carry out the deal with Boeing for the Apaches, and that their delivery would be delayed by several years as another customer will take Israel’s place.

Military costs surged as Israel waged costly wars in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran, as well as operations in Yemen, since the Hamas-led onslaught of October 7, 2023, with the military also seeking to significantly expand its forces that were found lacking in preventing the Hamas massacre and subsequent wars.

The state budget that was passed in March already allotted the Defense Ministry a record NIS 143 billion ($45.8 billion), or about 17 percent of the total spending bill.

In July, the Finance Ministry said it had reached an agreement with the Defense Ministry to immediately transfer an additional NIS 15 billion ($5.01 billion) in budget funds for the military amid claims by the IDF that it was on the verge of grounding an array of units.