The U.S. State Department approved a possible sale of $992.4 million worth of laser-guided rockets, or “advanced precision kill weapon system” and relevant equipment, Foggy Bottom said on Friday.
Israel sought 10,000 of the APKWS equipment, which is made by BAE Systems, the State Department said.
“The secretary of state has determined and provided detailed justification that an emergency exists that requires the immediate sale to Israel of the above defense articles and defense services is in the national security interests of the United States, thereby waiving the congressional review requirements,” the department said.
“The proposed sale will improve Israel’s capability to meet current and future threats, strengthen its homeland defense and serve as a deterrent to regional threats,” it added. “Israel will have no difficulty absorbing these articles and services into its armed forces.”
According to the U.S. Navy, APKWS is “intended as an inexpensive way to destroy targets while limiting collateral damage in close combat.”
BAE Systems says that the weapon “has also proven itself capable in air-to-air targeting of unmanned aerial vehicles and low-flying cruise missiles, as part of a counter-unmanned aerial system, as well as in ground-to-ground lethality fired from launchers mounted on vehicles and remote weapon stations.”
