Commentary | Sparta? During the War, the Israeli Defense Industry Faced a Shortage of Explosives

Recently, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a speech in which he claimed that our weapons industries could face blockages, adding: “We will need to develop weapons industries here. We will need to be Athens and Super Sparta.”

Some critics commented on his use of the term “Super Sparta,” without being aware of the information hidden from the public regarding the real reasons behind the Prime Minister’s speech.

In this article, I will attempt to lift the “smoke screen,” with the necessary caution, while respecting national security limitations, and I will refer to the data underlying the Prime Minister’s correct statements about the need to ensure the capability to produce explosives.

Shortage of Explosives

Decades ago, due to embargoes and fear of embargoes, Israel established a sophisticated industry of factories intended to ensure as much independence as possible in the supply of weapons.

For example, industrial facilities were set up to produce raw materials such as nitroglycerin and nitrocellulose; factories were built to manufacture blasting explosives, high explosives (like TNT), and various devices such as specific detonators used to initiate explosives. This was a kind of “autarkic sector” of armament production, generating almost everything it needed.

Over the years, these factories were privatized, and their only guiding principle became economic efficiency. This worked well—until recently, when these factories faced unforeseen crises.

The first crisis was the Russia–Ukraine war, which triggered an arms race and an immediate need to acquire massive quantities of ammunition, which existing global production capabilities could not supply.

As a result of the Russia–Ukraine war, the United States purchased all the production capacity of a Polish TNT factory for the coming years. That factory had been a supplier of TNT to Israel’s defense industry facilities, and suddenly it stopped supplying this vital explosive to Israel, leaving Israeli factories in a precarious situation.

Subsequently, a serious war broke out in the Gaza Strip following Hamas’s attack on October 7, 2023, alongside conflicts with Lebanon and other fronts, during which IDF forces faced ammunition shortages, tragically resulting in loss of life.

In a closed forum discussion, a senior manager at a leading ammunition manufacturer explained how they tried to purchase TNT worldwide, but the material could not be obtained because producers were sending it to clients using it to manufacture munitions for the Russia–Ukraine war.

The manager explained that they approached arms dealers to search for explosives globally, but the shortage was severe. The factory could not meet all of the IDF’s operational needs due to the lack of explosives.

Sometimes dubious traders offered to mediate the supply of TNT, but in the end, nothing materialized.

Previously, a munitions factory would never order explosives without first verifying the quality abroad, but due to the desperate situation and lack of alternatives, the factory purchased TNT offered by dealers before other parties could buy it, deciding to perform quality tests after the material arrived in Israel.

In some cases, quality tests performed after arrival revealed extremely poor quality, making it unusable for ammunition production, requiring its destruction.

Therefore, the Prime Minister was correct when he said: “We will need to develop weapons industries here. We have no choice—what has worked until now will no longer work.”

Supply of Explosives for Civilian Purposes

The most common civilian explosive is ANFO, used primarily for quarry blasting.

Recently, various companies worldwide refused to supply Israeli factories with the raw materials needed to produce ANFO, due to official or unofficial embargoes or because the manufacturer chose not to supply the material to an Israeli explosives producer. This is despite the fact that the raw material is not an explosive itself and is intended for producing explosives suitable for civilian, not military, use.

Civilian explosives factories are essential, as disruptions in civilian explosives supply can paralyze wide sectors of the economy. Civilian explosives are crucial for extracting raw materials for construction, infrastructure, and industry. Materials from quarries are also vital for desalination, wastewater treatment, food production, and more.

Moreover, Hassan Nasrallah once threatened to damage a civilian explosives factory. This threat underscores the need for independence, so that Israel can maintain sufficient production capacity of civilian explosives, ensuring essential services even if a threatened facility stops functioning for any reason.

Explosives Production – Critical Infrastructure

Over the years, Israel’s defense factories have focused on developing and producing sophisticated weapons systems, which are highly profitable, but they neglected basic explosives production. Yet most sophisticated weapons systems, designed to strike targets precisely, are ineffective without explosives.

When the “perfect storm” emerged—a global shortage of explosives due to the Russia–Ukraine war combined with multi-front conflicts in Israel—Israel faced a critical shortage, and the IDF did not receive sufficient ammunition, tragically causing loss of life.

The recognition that explosives industries are a vital national infrastructure has also spread globally, and there is now a push to build explosives production facilities in Europe, America, and East Asia.

Even in the civilian sector, it is crucial that Israel not rely on a single factory threatened by hostile actors, so that if civilian explosives supply is disrupted, broad economic sectors, including infrastructure, are not paralyzed.

Summary

Objectively and independent of political positions, anyone who knows the facts must honestly acknowledge that Netanyahu was correct in his statements about the need to expand explosives production capacity and establish new production facilities, as most countries in the world are doing today.

If Israel does not act quickly, it will inevitably cost lives.

Explosives industries must be treated as critical infrastructure for national security. The Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Economy, National Security Council, and National Emergency Authority are responsible for ensuring sufficient domestic explosives production capacity, coordinating activities in this area, and removing bureaucratic barriers that delay the establishment of production facilities.

In his “Sparta Speech,” Prime Minister Netanyahu said: “What has worked until now will not work from now on. We cannot approve these massive projects, including the development of weapons systems, within the existing bureaucracy at your office and the Ministry of Defense. We do not have that option if we value life.” His statement is justified.

The author is an engineer and consultant on safety and hazardous materials, preparing training materials and expert opinions for legal proceedings.

Disclosure: The author advises various parties on hazardous materials, including explosives.