via Times of Israel.
US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel announced the deal during a visit to Israel in April 2013. “The introduction of the V-22 into the Israeli Air Force will give the Israeli air force long range, high-speed maritime search and rescue capabilities to deal with a number of threats and contingencies,” he said during a joint press conference with Ya’alon.My theory? The extra F-35's are a token of good faith to the Pentagon. A gift that negates the need to buy the V-22 that they really don't have a need for...but it does clear the decks for them to get the helicopter they really want.
The deal was to include, Hagel said at the time, anti-radiation missiles, advanced radars for Israel’s F-15s, KC-135 refueling aircraft and, “most significantly,” the V-22.
Ya’alon, according to Yoav Limor’s account in Israel Hayom, decided to cancel the acquisition, against the advice of the IDF chief of General Staff and the Israel Air Force’s commander, on account of budgetary constraints and lessons learned in the wake of the 50-day battle in Gaza this summer, during which a need for improved armored vehicles, for instance, rose to the surface.
The reported decision to cancel the deal came three days after Israeli officials said the army would buy a second squadron of US-made F-35 fighter jets.
That news came amid strained ties between Israel and the US. A Tuesday story in The Atlantic magazine reported that senior administration officials had called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “a chickenshit” and alleged the relationship between the countries was in crisis.
The CH-53K.
The cancellation of the V-22 might be consequential. No one is buying it and Japan won't save it with their buy. I see that line coming to a close in the near future.
Despite the furious propaganda for the airplane, the V-22 appears to be viewed as a boutique airplane that doesn't justify its enormous cost.
http://defense-update.com/20141030_v22_cancelled.html
ReplyDeleteIsrael cancelled orders for six V-22s to pay for second batch of F-35 purchases.
One shit aircraft buy canceled to pay for another.
DeleteThere is a whole list of countries which "will buy" the F-35, but that doesn't pay the rent.
ReplyDeleteKeeping KC-135s out of Israeli hands also hamstrings operations like potential strikes on Iranian nuke plants, which currently would be one-way kamikaze missions for the IAF without tanker support. They have a half dozen homemade KC-707s and a few KC-130s, but they'd need more and better a/c for that role if they were to undertake that mission package.
ReplyDeleteIf they really wanted to, they could buy an Airbus tanker...
DeleteSol,
ReplyDeleteCannot agree more with your last line.
The MV-22B is a high performance mini-van when most people want a pickup truck.
The IDF just doesn't need an aircraft like the V-22 any Helo can work in a nation of that size and for what ops it would need to use.
ReplyDelete