DoD approves sale of bunker buster missiles to Israel :: Political News and commentaries

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September 14, 2008

DoD approves sale of bunker buster missiles to Israel

Let's just call this a component of step one:

The US Department of Defense has notified Congress of a potential sale of 1,000 smart bombs capable of penetrating underground bunkers to Israel, which would likely be used in the event of a military strike against Iran's nuclear facilities.

The notification of the possible sale to Congress was made over the weekend by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), the branch of the Pentagon responsible for evaluating foreign military sales.

Congress has 30 days to object the deal.

The deal is valued at $77 million and the principal contractor will be Boeing Integrated Defense Systems. The bomb which Israel has asked to procure is called the GBU-39, developed in recent years by the US as a small diameter bomb for low-cost, high-precision and low-collateral damage strikes.

In addition to the bomb, Israel has also asked for 150 mounting carriages, 30 guided test vehicles as well as two instructors to train the Israeli Air Force how to load the missiles on its aircraft.

The GPS-guided GBU-39 is said to be one of the most accurate bombs in the world and when installed on a 250 lb bomb has the same penetration capabilities as a 2000 lb bomb although with only 50 pounds of explosives. At just 5.9 feet long and 285 pounds, the small size of the bomb increases the number of weapons an aircraft can carry therefore raising the number of targets its can attack in a single sortie.

Tests conducted in the US have proven that the bomb is capable of penetrating at least three feet of steel reinforced concrete. The GBU-39 can be used in adverse weather conditions and has a standoff range of more than 60 nautical miles due to pop-out wings.

In its recommendation to Congress, the DSCA wrote that Israel's strategic position was "vital to the United States' interests throughout the Middle East."

As for steps 2 and 3, they aren't hard to figure out, the timing of which depending upon who's elected in November.

Take home question: Was or is Georgia meant to be step 2 ?

Posted by Richard at September 14, 2008 3:46 PM

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