![]() Instead, Israel is believed to be focused on acquiring one more squadron of F-15 and F-35 fighter jets, Tomahawk cruise missiles and a bump in annual US military aid from $3 billion to $5 billion as part of upcoming negotiations over a new 10-year Memorandum of Understanding when the current one expires in 2017.ĭespite those reservations, the Israeli air force is not expected to pass up out-of-hand the chance to get its hands on powerful new toys. They argue that Israel came close to buying a dozen V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor troop transports last year before putting the $800 million deal on ice after weighing all the associated costs. Israeli experts also warn that the tiny country would have to invest a fortune in related infrastructure - simulators, training, facilities, mechanical systems and experts - to handle such weapons. And they say only one air base, Nevatim, has runways that could conceivably be upgraded to handle such flights. They point out that Israel does not possess the heavy bombers - B-2s or B-52s - required to deliver the 15-ton Massive Ordnance Penetrator, or GBU-57. Israeli military experts and former officials are equally skeptical. We are not capable of maintaining and sustaining it.” “It is way beyond our means not worth the means, money and effort. “This idea is irrelevant for Israel,” a senior Israeli officer told Al-Monitor. 9 meeting at the White House. Interviews with current and former top-ranking Israeli military officials, however, suggest a distinct lack of enthusiasm for a cumbersome super-weapon of dubious military value. The proposal is expected to come up during next month’s visit to Washington by Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon as well as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Nov. Talk is heating up in Congress and the Pentagon about whether to share America’s massive new bunker-busting bomb as a warning to Iran, but Israel remains cool to the idea.
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