U.S. to sell Israel munitions to renew stock after Operation Pillar of Defense
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U.S. to sell Israel munitions to renew stock after Operation Pillar of Defense
Department of Defense notifies Congress of $647 million deal that includes the sale of 6,900 precision bomb kits to the Israel Air Force.
By Barak Ravid | Dec.11, 2012 | 11:21 AM | 72
The United States will sell Israel munitions worth $647 million, in order to renew the inventory of the Israel Defense Forces following the massive bombings in Gaza during Operation Pillar of Defense.
The deal will include the supply of 6,900 precision bomb kits to the Israel Air Force. The U.S. Department of Defense notified Congress of the sale on Monday.
The deal states that the U.S. will supply Israel with some 6,900 Joint Attack Munitions tail kits, which convert regular bombs into "smart" munitions, which are guided by satellite and allow precise hits on targets.
The U.S. will also supply Israel with 10,000 bombs of various kinds – 3,450 bombs weighing a ton each, 1,725 bombs weighing 250 kilograms each, 1,725 BLU-109 bunker-buster bombs, and 3,450 GBU-39 bunker-buster bombs intended for fortified targets with minimal impact in order to prevent harm to innocent civilians.
The purpose of the deal is to renew Israel's munitions inventory following Operation Pillar of Defense in Gaza last month. During the operation, Israel carried out more than a thousand attacks in Gaza and the IAF used munitions mostly in attacks against rocket-launching tunnels as well as weapons smuggling tunnels belonging to Hamas and other terror groups in Gaza.