Iran claims: We managed to double the rate of weapons production during the war
Israeli and US strikes have failed to stop the momentum of defense production in Iran, which claims to have even tripled the rate. Meanwhile, Taiwan is increasing defense spending in the face of the Chinese threat, and Switzerland fears being left without air defense in a world where demand for defense systems is only growing.
Iran continues to draw lessons from the confrontations with Israel and the USA, significantly increasing the pace of defense production. In the Far East, the fear of Tehran's ally, China, is growing due to assessments that its invasion of Taiwan is near. Taipei is significantly increasing its investment in defense to historical levels.
Iran: Threefold increase in production
During Operation Roar of the Lion, Iran increased the production rate of defense products by more than three times, claims the spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense in Tehran. In a television interview, Brigadier General Reza Talaei-Nik said that his country aims to increase its independent capabilities and that the development of Iran's defense industries since the Iran-Iraq war in the 80s has been significant.
"One of the prominent characteristics of our defense industry is the speed and ability to produce," said the Iranian Ministry of Defense spokesperson. "The rate of production and replacement matches the rate of use of weapons and ammunition on the battlefield. In other words, in parallel with the use of Iranian-made weapons and equipment, their production process also continues." According to him, there was a significant growth in the pace of defense production in July of this year compared to July of last year.
"Despite the claims of American and Israeli officials, including Donald Trump and the Prime Minister of Israel, we recorded a twofold increase in the production of weapons, equipment, and ammunition during the past year," concluded Talaei-Nik.
Taiwan: Defense budget jumps to about 3% of GDP
The year 2027 is marked in Western countries as the year when China might invade Taiwan. Against this background, the budget agency in Taipei decided to submit a defense budget proposal for 2027 in the amount of 1.123 trillion New Taiwan dollars (about 35.5 billion US dollars). This is a defense budget of historical scale, equal to about 3.01% of Taiwan's annual GDP.
Out of the proposed budget, the Ministry of Defense in Taipei is expected to receive about 691.9 billion New Taiwan dollars, while about 218.2 billion will be allocated for the procurement of weapons. The President of Taiwan, Lai Ching-te, said that the increase in the defense budget demonstrates Taiwan's determination to strengthen its self-defense capabilities. At the same time, last week Taiwan began receiving two new F-16 aircraft from the USA, out of an order that includes 66 aircraft.
An analysis by the TWZ website found that west of Taiwan, in the South China Sea, China has built an artificial island in about ten months that spans nearly 1,500 dunams. A deep-water port and a pier about 610 meters long were built on the island, and a military runway about 3 km long is in the process of being built. According to a report by the Reuters news agency, the first phase of the construction of the military base has been completed.
Switzerland: Billions for air defense
The Swiss government has approached the parliament with a request to approve 970 million Swiss francs (about 1.2 billion dollars) for defense needs as part of the 2026 budget. The request comes against the background of the deteriorating security situation and the lengthening of supply chains in the defense industry.
The amount is intended for several purchases:
-
650 million francs for medium-range air defense systems
-
250 million francs for short-range air defense systems
-
60 million francs for medium-range radars
-
10 million francs for anti-drone systems
The Swiss government warns that the local army does not currently have the resources required for protection against aerial threats. The main Swiss fear is that if they do not hurry to place significant orders, they will be left behind for a long time. Switzerland intends to spend a billion francs on the purchase of the IRIS-T medium-range air defense system, produced by the German company Diehl, and 800 million francs on the Skynex system of the German company Rheinmetall. Bern's current threat perception focuses on the fear of hybrid actions and long-range attacks, apparently from Russia.
