Israel is planning a major expansion of its military space capabilities, including the long-term goal of developing the ability to strike targets on Earth directly from orbit, Haaretz reports.
Israel aims to become the first country to develop a genuine space-to-ground attack capability. The broader strategy would also strengthen military satellites, encrypted communications, cyberwarfare, and missile defense.
One potential concept is similar to the U.S. “Rods from God” proposal, involving satellites dropping massive tungsten rods at extremely high speeds to create powerful bunker-busting impacts without using nuclear weapons.
Israel is considering investing around $5.4 billion in military space capabilities over the next decade, although the funding has not yet been secured.