The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced a slew of Foreign Military Sales (FMS) approvals for Israel on 13 August 2024, the most significant of which was the US State Department’s approval of the sale of up to 50 new F-15IA Advanced Eagle multi-role fighters, as well as mid-life update modification kits for the 25 F-15I fighters the Israel Air Force already operates to bring them up to a similar standard.
The proposed F-15IA/F-15I+ sale, which is worth an estimated USD 18.82 billion (EUR 17.06 billion), also includes 120 F110-GE-129 engines, 90 Advanced Display Core Processors II, 75 APG-82(V)1 active electronically scanned-array radars, 50 AN/AAQ-13 LANTIRN navigation pods with containers, 320 LAU-128 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) launchers and 25 M61A Vulcan cannons, as well as numerous other avionics systems, spare parts and various aspects of programme, logistics, technical and training support.
“Incorporating F-15IAs into the Israel Air Force’s fleet of fighter aircraft will enhance Israel’s interoperability with US systems and bolster Israel’s aerial capabilities to meet current and future enemy threats, strengthen its homeland defense and serve as a deterrent to regional threats,” the DSCA stated.
The prime contractor for the F-15IA/F-15I+ sale will be Boeing out of its facilities in St Louis, Missouri.
Meanwhile, other FMS cases declared approved for Israel on 13 August included: 30 AIM-120C-8 AMRAAMs and one AMRAAM guidance section worth USD 102.5 million; additional modified M1148A1P2 Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV) Load Handling System 8-ton cargo trucks that will be added to a previously implemented FMS case whose value was under the congressional notification threshold, with the total value of the buy now USD 583.1 million; 32,739 120 mm tank cartridges, consisting of 120 mm M1147 High Explosive Multi-Purpose with Tracer (HEMP-T) cartridges and/or 120 mm M830A1 High Explosive Multi-Purpose Anti-Tank (MPAT) with tracer cartridges, valued at USD 774.1 million; and 50,000 M933A1 120 mm high explosive mortar cartridges with M783 fuzes that will be added to a previously implemented case whose value was under the congressional notification threshold, with the total now estimated at USD 61.1 million.
The prime contractors for these sales will be respectively: RTX Corporation, out of its facilities in Tucson, Arizona; Oshkosh Corporation, located in Oshkosh, Wisconsin; General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems, located in St Petersburg, Florida, and Northrop Grumman Defense Systems, located in Falls Church, Virginia; General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems Inc, located in Quebec, Canada.
