New
York, – The United States is planning to
provide another package of advanced weapons to Israel in a bid to elevate the
arms race in the Middle East.
According
to Press TV, the U.S. State Department said the discussions
between the United States and Israel about the arms deal are ongoing, USA Today
reported.
Air-refueling
aircraft, advanced radars for F-15 fighter jets and up to eight V-22 Ospreys
are among the new weapons. Landing like a helicopter, Ospreys can carry two
dozen special operations forces over long distances at aircraft speeds.
The
deal would be part of a military package for Tel Aviv that includes one billion
dollars for up to eight V-22 tilt-rotors; $500 million to retrofit radars into
F-15 fighters and another one billion dollars for a variety of air-to-ground
weapons.
A
Defense Department press release said the package includes Boeing's KC-135
"Stratotanker" that can refuel Ospreys and other aircraft while
airborne and extend the tilt-rotor aircraft's 426-mile range almost
indefinitely.
It
also includes anti-radiation missiles that are used to target air defense
systems, and advanced radars for Israel's fleet of F-15 fighter jets.
Meanwhile,
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu on Thursday in order to talk about the weapons deal.
A
Congressional Research Service (CRS) report shows that the United States gave
Israel more than $67 billion of taxpayer-funded military aid grants and loans
between 1968 and 2008.
In
2007, the administration of former president George W. Bush signed an agreement
with Israel to provide an additional $30 billion in weapons from 2009 to 2018.
Israel
has been and continues to be allowed to use approximately 25 percent of the
U.S. military aid to purchase equipment from manufacturers.
According
to CRS, “no other recipient of U.S. military assistance has been granted this
benefit.”
The administration of U.S. President Barack Obama has shored up Persian Gulf littoral states -- Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, UAE and Kuwait -- with major arms deals in recent years.
The arms deals include a record multi-billion plan to sell Saudi Arabia advanced F-15 aircraft, some 2,000-lb JDAMs and other powerful munitions. The U.S. also approved the sale of a multi-billion terminal missile program to the United Arab Emirates.
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