ISRAEL CONCERNED:36 F-16 PLANES APPROVED BY PENTAGON FOR SALE TO IRAQ ARE COMPARABLE TO ISRAELI INVENTORIES
http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Article.aspx?id=265223
36 F-16 fighter planes approved by Pentagon for Baghdad last year are
comparable to those in IAF inventories.
Israel is increasingly concerned with the military build-up in Iraq amid
intelligence reports that the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) is
solidifying its presence in the country, according to a senior IDF officer.
Of particular concern is the Pentagon’s approval in late 2011 of the sale of
36 F- 16 multi-role combat aircraft to Iraq. The planes will be built by
Lockheed Martin in the US and are Block 52 F-16s, meaning that they are of
the same configuration as Israel’s F-16Is, called Sufa (Storm).”We are carefully watching the developments in Iraq,” the IDF officer said.
“The possible developments there are not immediate, but since the US
withdrawal from Iraq we do not know what will evolve there.”
Israel’s concern was demonstrated in the Halamish multi-year procurement
plan, which the IDF General Staff approved in late 2011 but has yet to
implement due to continued disagreements between the Defense Ministry and
the Treasury over the size of the defense budget for the coming five years.
In the IDF’s strategic analysis for the region – which serves as the
foundation for the procurement plans – Iraq once again appears as a
potential threat to Israel, something it has not posed since the US invasion
of the country in 2003.
In addition to F-16s, the Iraqis have also purchased C-130 transport
aircraft from the US, as well as a variety of land platforms, like armored
vehicles.
Israel’s concern is compounded by intelligence reports that the “Al-Quds
Force” – the IRGC branch responsible for overseas operations – has been
solidifying its presence in the country and is meddling in internal
political affairs.
As it did in 2010 after the US announced a $60 billion sale of military
hardware to Saudi Arabia, Israel has refrained from actively lobbying
against the sale of the aircraft. This is due to an understanding that the
US makes these sales in order to try and retain a level of influence over
other countries, and that these nations would turn instead to Russia if the
US didn’t sell them the equipment.
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