U.S. to sell 'BUNKER BUSTERs' to ISRAEL
Compiled by Our Staff From Dispatches AP, Reuters
Wednesday, September 22, 2004
Total sale to include nearly 5,000 bombs
JERUSALEM The United States will sell ISRAEL nearly 5,000 bombs in one of the largest weapons deals between the allies in years, the Haaretz newspaper reported Tuesday.
The $319 million sale will include 500 "BUNKER BUSTERs" that could be effective against Iran's underground nuclear facilities, ISRAELi security sources said.
The Pentagon said in June that it was considering the sale to ISRAEL of 500 BLU-109 warheads, one-ton bombs that can penetrate five meters, or 15 feet, of fortifications.
ISRAEL has sometimes used such bombs in fighting with Palestinians, the daily newspaper said. In one instance in July 2002, a one-ton bomb meant for a senior Palestinian militant also killed 15 civilians in an attack in the Gaza Strip.
But, an ISRAELi security source said, "This is not the sort of ordnance needed for the Palestinian front. BUNKER BUSTERs could serve ISRAEL against Iran, or possibly Syria."
The bombs include airborne versions, guidance units, training bombs and detonators. The bombs are guided by an existing ISRAELi satellite used by the military. In addition to the 500 one-ton BUNKER BUSTERs, the deal includes 2,500 other one-ton bombs, 1,000 half-ton bombs and 500 quarter-ton bombs, Haaretz said.
The Pentagon wants to maintain ISRAEL's military advantages and ensure U.S. strategic and tactical interests, Haaretz said. Funding for the sale will come from U.S. military aid to ISRAEL.
Mounted on satellite-guided bombs, BLU-109s can be fired from F-15 or F-16 jets, U.S.-made aircraft in ISRAEL's arsenal. This year ISRAEL received the first of a fleet of 102 long-range F-16Is from Washington, its main ally.
"ISRAEL very likely manufactures its own BUNKER BUSTERs, but they are not as robust as the 2,000-pound BLUs," said Robert Hewson, editor of Jane's Air-Launched Weapons.
U.S. and ISRAELi officials had no immediate comment.
Haaretz, citing ISRAELi government sources, said the sale would take place after the U.S. election in November.
Earlier this month, Haaretz said ISRAEL wanted BUNKER BUSTER bombs for a possible strike against Iran's atomic program, which ISRAEL considers a strategic threat.
"Our response to any invasive measure will be massive," Massoud Jazaeri, spokesman for Iran's Revolutionary Guards, said at the time.
Iran, which does not recognize ISRAEL's right to exist, says its nuclear program has only peaceful purposes. This week it rejected international calls to comply with the demands by the International Atomic Energy Agency to halt all its uranium-enrichment activities. On Tuesday, it announced that it has begun a key step in creating bomb-grade fuel.
Widely assumed to be the Middle East's only nuclear-armed nation, ISRAEL wants to stop Iran from building atomic weapons, but its officials say diplomatic pressure on Tehran is the best method.
In 1981, ISRAEL, believing that Saddam Hussein was developing nuclear weapons, bombed Iraq's Osiraq reactor.
While the move drew international censure, eventually many Western experts saw it as an important blow to Saddam's strategic weapons capabilities. The Osiraq strike did not stop Saddam's quest for the bomb. Instead, Iraq went underground and worked in secret until its nuclear program was uncovered by the UN's atomic agency in 1991. (AP, Reuters) |
