U.S To Sell Ospreys, Radars, Antiradiation Missiles To Israel

The U.S and Israel today announced what they called a “a significant step in U.S.-Israeli defense cooperation,” and finalized a new defense contract that would benefit Tel Aviv.

U.S Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and his Israeli counterpart Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon made the statement during Hagel's official visit to Israel.

“Minister Yaalon and I agreed that the United States will make available to Israel a set of advanced new military capabilities, … including antiradiation missiles and advanced radars for its fleet of fighter jets, KC-135 refueling aircraft, and most significantly, the V-22 Osprey, which the U.S. has not released to any other nation,” Hagel said.

The new radar and antiradiation missiles, along with Israel’s participation in the joint strike fighter program -- a single-seat, single-engine, fifth-generation fighter under development to perform ground attack, reconnaissance and air defense missions with stealth capability -- ensures that Israel will maintain air superiority for the next generation, Hagel said.

Introducing the V-22 into the Israeli air force, he added, will give that service long-range, high-speed maritime search-and rescue-capabilities to deal with a range of threats and contingencies.

“These decisions underscore that military-to-military cooperation between the U.S. and Israel is stronger than ever,” the secretary said, “and that defense cooperation will only continue to deepen in the future.”

“Iran threatens to wipe Israel off the map, it backs Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, and it is assisting the Syrian regime to kill tens of thousands of innocent civilians,” the Israeli defense minister said. “The Iran regime is involved in Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, Sudan and more, and Iran is developing nuclear weapons.”

“Despite fiscal pressures, President Obama has ensured that Israel receives an all-time high of $3.1 billion in foreign military financing this year,” Hagel said. “Last month in Jerusalem, President Obama announced that the United States and Israel would begin work on a new multiyear memorandum of understanding.”

The memorandum would extend security funding for Israel beyond 2017, when the current agreement expires, he noted.