The replacements cannot come too soon given the age of the current fleet of tankers.
Israel has needed new refuelers for its air force for years. Its aging fleet of converted Boeing 707s are sixty years old. Yet these expensive upgrades were put off, along with more F-35 purchases and helicopters, because of a budget battle between the Ministry of Defense and Finance Ministry. There were also questions about how to pay for the warplanes amid U.S. military aid to Israel and a decade-long memorandum of understanding with the US. Israel’s goal is to maintain its “Qualitative Military Edge” over opponents in the region for decades to come. The tankers will join more F-35s, helicopters, air defense systems and other advanced technology.
Israel signs German tank protection systems deal
Rafael will sell its Trophy tank and armored vehicles protection systems to the German army for its Leopard 2 tanks.
Israel s Ministry of Defense and the German Federal Ministry of Defense have signed a G2G deal for the supply of the Trophy tank protection system manufactured by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. for the German army s Leopard 2 tanks.
The deal was led by Israel s Directorate of Defense R&D (MAFAT) and Rafael and was signed by Ministry of Defense director general Amir Eshel and senior German defense officials. The deal includes tank equipment, interceptors, spares parts and operational and technical training.
The powerful active protection system has been tested by the U.S. military.
In a major sign that Israeli military technology is making more inroads in Europe, Germany’s Defense Ministry signed an agreement to equip the German military with the Trophy Active Protection System. Made by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, Trophy has been protecting Israeli tanks for a decade and is also on the U.S. Abrams tanks since 2019.
Germany is a key supporter of Israel in Europe and Israel recently took delivery of the Sa’ar 6 Corvette warship from a German shipyard. Israel buys its submarines from Germany as well. “Once again, we see the appreciation that leading security institutions around the world have for Israel’s innovation and technology,” said Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz. He praised Trophy as life-saving technology and a groundbreaking system from Israel’s defense industry.
Israel Could Soon Have the Most Advanced Air Defense in the World meforum.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from meforum.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
An Israeli Arrow-3 interceptor is launched from the US test range in Alaska.
TEL AVIV: Israel and the U.S have begun development of the Arrow 4 ballistic missile interceptor to deal largely with new Iranian long-range ballistic missile threats.
A key design feature for the new Arrow will be winglets, helping it to intercept threats inside the atmosphere, in particular hypersonic missiles.
“Israel needs to plan its missiles defense capabilities for many years to come. At this point there is no hypersonic missile threat on Israel, but when you design such an advanced interceptor, this capability should be included as some countries develop such missiles and in the middle east you must expect the unexpected,” an expert who spoke that with BD on condition of anonymity said.