Defense Ministry director general Maj.-Gen. (res.) Amir Baram visited Covenant, one of Israel's fastest growing defense-tech companies, on Thursday, October 30, 2026, in a push to expand Israel's munitions independence and secure the IDF's qualitative edge for the decade ahead.
According to The Jerusalem Post, the visit is part of a series of tours Baram is conducting across defense firms to implement the ministry's strategy of strengthening Israel's defense-tech ecosystem. The visit, the ministry said, focused on expanding the production base and preserving the State of Israel's technological superiority in the years to come.
Anthem: Israeli ingenuity, affordable firepower
Covenant emerged from stealth only last month and operates in Israel, the United States, and Germany. Its flagship system, Anthem, is designed to deliver heavy payloads at extended ranges while remaining cheap enough to manufacture at scale. Defence Blog described the missile as a low-cost cruise missile that has caught the ministry's attention precisely because it can be mass produced.
The company has released few technical details. A report in the Missile Matters blog by expert Fabian Hoffmann cited estimates that the missile has a range of 1,000 to 1,500 kilometers and carries a payload of over 200 kilograms, with a unit cost that may fall between $500,000 and $6 million.
Most of Anthem's components are commercial off-the-shelf parts, backed by long-term agreements for critical supplies. Covenant says this approach allows production to continue quickly and reliably even in wartime, drawing on supply chains across allied nations.
The company aims to produce 1,000 Anthem missiles in 2027 at its German and American sites. Missile Matters reported that the Israeli and German facilities operate as quasi-independent entities with mostly localized supply chains, held under a corporate structure that places them outside US export controls, though the firm remains under Israel's Defense Exports Control Department, which bars sales to countries such as Ukraine.
Why munitions independence matters now
Since the Hamas onslaught of October 7, 2023, Israel has consumed enormous quantities of munitions across multiple fronts. Replenishing stockpiles and rebuilding them at home has become one of the country's highest priorities. Last year the Defense Ministry declared munitions independence a strategic priority and pushed companies to expand domestic production capacity.
The government also launched a state-backed investment initiative last year to support early-stage defense-tech ventures. The Defense Ministry has invested NIS 1.2 billion in start-ups alone, and small and medium-sized companies have signed contracts worth hundreds of millions each.
Baram framed the strategy in blunt terms during the visit.