The U.S. has approved $20 billion in arms sales to Israel, including scores of fighter jets and advanced air-to-air missiles, the State Department announced Tuesday. Congress was notified of the impending sale, which includes more than 50 F-15 fighter jets, Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles, or AMRAAMs, 120 mm tank ammunition and high explosive mortars and tactical vehicles and comes at a time of intense concern that Israel may become involved in a wider Middle East war.
Quick Read
- The U.S. has approved $20 billion in arms sales to Israel, including more than 50 F-15 fighter jets, Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAMs), 120 mm tank ammunition, high explosive mortars, and tactical vehicles.
- The sale comes amid concerns that Israel may become involved in a wider Middle East war, but the weapons are not expected to arrive in Israel anytime soon, as the contracts will take years to fulfill.
- The U.S. State Department emphasized that this sale is vital to U.S. national interests and aims to help Israel maintain a strong and ready self-defense capability.
- The Biden administration is balancing its support for Israel with increasing calls from U.S. lawmakers and the public to curb military aid due to high civilian casualties in Gaza.
- The sale includes not only new aircraft but also upgrade kits for Israel’s existing fleet of F-15 fighter jets, with the first deliveries expected in 2029.
The Associated Press has the story:
US approves $20 billion in weapons sales to Israel amid threat of wider Middle East war
Newslooks- WASHINGTON (AP) —
The U.S. has approved $20 billion in arms sales to Israel, including scores of fighter jets and advanced air-to-air missiles, the State Department announced Tuesday. Congress was notified of the impending sale, which includes more than 50 F-15 fighter jets, Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles, or AMRAAMs, 120 mm tank ammunition and high explosive mortars and tactical vehicles and comes at a time of intense concern that Israel may become involved in a wider Middle East war.
However, the weapons are not expected to get to Israel anytime soon, they are contracts that will take years to fulfill. Much of what is being sold is to help Israel increase its military capability in the long term.
“The United States is committed to the security of Israel, and it is vital to U.S. national interests to assist Israel to develop and maintain a strong and ready self-defense capability. This proposed sale is consistent with those objectives,” the State Department said in a release on the sale.
The Biden administration has had to balance its continued support for Israel with a growing number of calls from lawmakers and the U.S. public to curb military support there due to the high number of civilian deaths in Gaza. It has curbed one delivery of 2,000-pound weapons amid continued airstrikes by Israel in densely populated civilian areas in Gaza.
The contracts will cover not only the sale of new 50 aircraft to be produced by Boeing. It will also include upgrade kits for Israel to modify its existing fleet of two dozen F-15 fighter jets with new engines and radars, among other upgrades. The jets comprise the biggest portion of the $20 billion in sales with the first deliveries expected in 2029.
