The U.S. State Department announced on Tuesday that it has approved a possible sale of up to eight KC-46 aircraft and related equipment to Israel as part of a process towards finalizing a military acquisition.
The sale, which Congress was notified about on Tuesday, as required by law, is valued at around $2.4 billion. Congress has 15 days to consider the Israeli request.
If Congress takes no action, the State Department would sit down with Israel to work out a contract, followed by approval or rejection by the U.S. Department of Defense.
In addition to the aircraft, other materials that could be sold to Israel in this deal are AN/ARC-210 U/VHF radios, APX-119 Identification Friend or Foe transponders, initial spares and repair parts, consumables, support equipment, technical data, engineering change proposals, publications, Field Service Representatives (FSRs), repair and return, depot maintenance, training and training equipment, contractor technical and logistics personnel services, U.S. government and contractor representative support, installation for subsystems, flight test and certification, and other related elements of logistics support and training.
“The proposed sale further supports the foreign policy and national security of the United States by allowing Israel to provide a redundant capability to U.S. assets within the region, potentially freeing U.S. assets for use elsewhere during times of war,” stated the U.S. State Department in a statement. “Aerial refueling and strategic airlift are consistently cited as significant shortfalls for our allies.”
“In addition, the sale improves Israel’s national security posture as a key U.S. ally,” continued the State Department. “Israel will have no difficulty absorbing this equipment into its armed forces.”
The contractors behind the possible sale are Boeing and Raytheon.
Implementation of this proposed sale will require the assignment of two U.S. field-service/contractor representatives to Israel, according to the State Department.
