You can make money from weapons without having to use them. For example if I had an a-bomb on a dead man’s switch I could walk around making all sorts of crazy demands much like countries do and no one has had to use one since shortly after they were invented. Your neighbours knowing you’re armed to the teeth will have an impact on their behaviour and you don’t have to fire a single bullet. Admittedly once you have full stockpiles of ammo you don’t need to buy until you start using it. I think this is why so much goes into r and d too keep it as a psychological deterrent for your enemies.

Sorry I just read the context of this reply. Clearly Israel’s enemy don’t give a shit what kind of weapons they have