The director general of the Defense Ministry Maj.-Gen. (res.) Amir Baram visited Covenant, one of Israel’s fast-growing defense-tech companies on Thursday, as part of a series of visits to various defense companies.
According to the Defense Ministry, Baram’s visit “focused on strengthening Israel’s munitions independence, expanding the production base, and preserving the State of Israel’s qualitative and technological edge in the years ahead.”
The statement added that the visits are part of implementing the Ministry’s strategy to strengthen Israel’s defense-tech ecosystem.
“The ministry’s policy is to encourage and strengthen both defense-tech companies and new start-ups, as well as the established industries. This balance is essential for fostering healthy competition, driving innovation and out-of-the-box thinking, maintaining our qualitative edge, and developing ‘the next surprises,’” Baram was quoted as saying during the visit.
According to him, “We must look ahead to an intense security decade and adapt our plans to both global changes and the evolution of the battlefield. Defense exports are a critical growth engine and an enabling tool, not only for strengthening the economy, but also for building the IDF’s force and delivering a critical mass of advanced systems to the warfighters on the front lines.”
Recognizing the strategic importance of this ecosystem, the Israeli government launched a state‑backed investment initiative last year to strengthen early‑stage defense‑tech ventures. The Defense Ministry has also invested NIS 1.2 billion in start-ups alone, and small- and medium-size companies have signed contracts worth hundreds of millions each.
Last year, the Defense Ministry declared “munition independence” a strategic priority, pushing companies to boost their domestic munition production capacity. Since the outbreak of the wars that began with the deadly Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, Israel has used enormous quantities of munitions, and replenishing its stockpile has become one of the country’s highest priorities.
Anthem
Covenant, which has operations in the US, Germany, and Israel, emerged from stealth last month. Its flagship system, Anthem, is built to deliver heavy payloads at extended ranges while remaining affordable enough to produce in large quantities.
The company has disclosed relatively little about Anthem’s specific performance characteristics, including its precise range, payload, and unit cost. A report in the blog Missile Matters by expert Fabian Hoffman quoted reports saying that the missile has a range of 1,000-1,500 kilometers and has a payload of over 200 kilograms. The report also said that the missile may cost between $500,000 and $6,000 USD per unit.
According to the company, most of Anthem’s components are commercial‑off‑the‑shelf (COTS) parts, supported by long‑term agreements for critical parts. Covenant says this approach allows the missile to be produced quickly and reliably, even during wartime, by drawing on supply chains across allied nations.
The company aims to produce 1,000 Anthem missiles in 2027 in its German and American sites. The report by Missile Matters said that the sites in Israel and Germany “operate as quasi-independent entities with mostly localized supply chains, held under a unique corporate structure” that places them outside US export controls.
Nevertheless, it is under Israel’s Defense Exports Control Department, banning the company from selling to countries like Ukraine.
Earlier in the month, Denmark announced that it would be procuring the Anthem.
