Israel watches fighters, helicopters buy from Boeing using US military aid

Israel plans to purchase $ 11 billion worth of aircraft including an F-15 fighter squadron with improved stealth features, cargo helicopters and Boeing air refueling aircraft using US military aid.

Israel's largest acquisition ever. The purchase will be funded by US military aid, which will rise to about $ 3.8 billion a year, over the next decade, as new planes and helicopters are delivered. , according to an article in the Israeli daily Hayom quoted by Times of Israel on Thursday. According to military officials, Israeli Yas' transport helicopters (also known as Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallions) and refueling aircraft would be obsolete and their replacement has been a priority for the Air Force.

Force favors replace aging squadrons with Boeing platforms over some of the company's competitors for several reasons, the report says. Boeing's refueling planes are based on the 767 jet, have proven their reliability and can be delivered fairly quickly. Boeing's helicopter lines, particularly the CH-47 Chinook and the V-22 Osprey, mean that a single market can deliver a squadron of helicopters with more varied capabilities.

The Chinook is one of the most popular military helicopters on the market. while the Osprey is a tilting rotor craft that can take off and land like a helicopter but flies like an airplane.

If the agreement is reached and Israel returns to the F-15 purchase, it will mark the first acquisition of Boeing. In the years that followed, Israel purchased 100 F-16s and 50 F-35s from Boeing's main competitor, Lockheed Martin.

F-15s are considered According to Israel Hayom, the agreement, which would be qualified as "AI for" Israel Advanced, would be an upgraded version of the old aircraft that would include some stealth capabilities, such as radar-absorbing paint and the internal transport of weapons.

must still be final ized. A final Air Force recommendation is expected soon to be sent to the Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Gadi Eisenkot, and the Department of Defense. A final decision on such a heavy purchase should then be approved by the 10-member security firm.