US announces $8.6 billion F-15 jets contract for Israel
Israel will receive F-15 fighter jets from Boeing, according to an $8.6 billion defence contract announced by the Pentagon on December 29th, as reported by Al-Monitor via Reuters.
The Pentagon released a statement which said: “This contract provides for the design, integration, instrumentation, test, production, and delivery of 25 new F-15IA aircraft for the Israeli Air Force with an option for an additional 25 F-15IA aircraft.”
According to the Pentagon, contract work was expected to take place in St. Louis and be completed by December 31st 2035.
The statement was released following a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Florida.
News of this contract suggests the Trump Administration is now more willing to grant contracts to Israel, despite concerns about these aircraft being used against Palestinian civilians.
A planned shipment of arms to Israel was stalled in April 2024 amid concerns that Israel planned to utilise the weapons for “more death” in its genocidal war on Gaza. This seemingly contradicted the former Biden Administration’s pledge to provide Israel with $1 billion worth of military aid.
In June 2024, the White House postponed a meeting between US and Israeli officials following a video uploaded by Netanyahu where he accused Washington of withholding the military equipment needed to “finish the job in Gaza.”
The US is Israel’s largest supplier of arms, providing an estimated 53% of Israel’s total imports of conventional arms in 2023. Furthermore, defence spending in Israel is expected to increase amid rising regional threats in Iran, Syria and Lebanon.
Since October 2023, Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza has killed over 71,000 people, with hundreds being killed since the ceasefire came into effect on October 10th.
Despite repeated Israeli ceasefire violations, Trump denied that the deal was “fragile” in November. But it was reported in November that Israel was accused of breaching the deal’s terms almost 200 times.
The US has been a long-standing ally of Israel, and has signalled its backing for Jewish settlement expansion, with US Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee being accused of supporting it.
Additionally, the US has sought to normalise relations between Israel and Arab countries through the Abraham Accords, which were set up in 2020.
Al-Monitor via Reuters, Maghrebi.org
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