An F-15EX fighter jet taxis to its parking spot at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio on Nov. 8, 2021. The new F-15IAs certified for Israel today are similar to the F-15EXs being built for the U.S. Air Force. (US Air Force photo by Jaima Fogg)
WASHINGTON — The State Department today officially approved a series of arms purchases by Israelwhich will pave the way for Jerusalem to receive F-15 fighter jets, ammunition and vehicles that will Total price estimate of over $20 billion.
The agreement comes at a sensitive time for the region: Iran and its proxy group Hezbollah are expected to retaliate after Israel allegedly assassinated Hezbollah military chief Fuad Shukr in Beirut, Lebanon, and Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in the Iranian capital Tehran.
The announcement, which came in the form of a Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) memo to Congress, is not final. Quantities and totals often change during negotiations. And today’s announcement technically opens lawmakers the opportunity to block the deal within a 30-day period. But such a move would be unlikely, in part because two key Democrats who opposed the deal have now given their approval to move forward with it.
Representative Gregory Meeks, a Democrat from New York who serves as ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said before He delayed the transaction due to humanitarian concerns over Jerusalem’s ongoing war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, where Palestinian health authorities say more than 38,000 people have been killed. Senator Ben Cardin, a Maryland Democrat who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, gave the green light to the sale, along with Meeks, the The Washington Post reported on it in June. (Their Republican colleagues had already approved the arms deals.)
At the top of the list of approved weapons is Boeing’s F-15. one of the sales With the state’s approval, Israel could buy up to 50 new F-15IA aircraft – Israel’s name for the newer model of the F-15 – as well as 25 conversion kits for existing F-15I jets for a total of $18.8 billion. The purchase price includes 120 F110 engines from GE Aerospace as well as radars, secure GPS devices and other subsystems. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2029, according to the statement.
Israel also received approval to purchase medium tactical vehicles and other related equipment worth $583.1 million, although the total number of vehicles is unclear. The main contractor is Oshkosh Corporation, according to the statement, and deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2026.
RELATED: The “Bill Belichick” of Pentagon contracts negotiates a deal for AMRAAM missiles
The other three sales are intended to replenish Israel’s ammunition stockpiles. They include:
- 32,739 120mm Fuel cartridges at a price of 774.1 million US dollars, with deliveries scheduled to begin in 2027.
- 50,000 120mm high-explosive mortar cartridges for $61.1 million, expected to arrive in 2026. General Dynamics is listed as the prime contractor for both 120mm weapons, with Northrop Grumman providing the tank cartridges.
- 30 AMRAAM missiles from RTX subsidiary Raytheon, valued at $102.5 million. AMRAAMs traditionally serve as air-to-air weapons but can also be launched from the ground by certain systems, and demand for the missiles has skyrocketed amid the war in Ukraine and conflict in the Middle East. The notification did not specify when the weapons might be delivered.
“The United States is committed to Israel’s security, and it is critical to U.S. national interests to help Israel develop and maintain a strong and ready self-defense capability. This proposed sale is consistent with those goals,” DSCA said of each transaction.
