US defense company Boeing has signed a contract worth approximately $289 million for the production and delivery of 5,000 Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) smart bombs to Israel. Deliveries are planned to begin in 36 months.
Boeing to Produce 5,000 Smart Bombs for Israel
US-based aerospace and defense company Boeing has signed a new contract worth approximately $289 million to produce and deliver 5,000 smart bombs for Israel. Details of the agreement were confirmed to Reuters by a source familiar with the matter.
Sources state that the agreement is not directly linked to the recent escalation of military tensions and attacks between Israel and Iran.
Deliveries to Begin in 36 Months
According to information previously reported by Bloomberg, deliveries of the munitions under the contract are planned to begin in approximately 36 months.
Boeing did not provide an official comment to Reuters regarding questions about the agreement.
Small Diameter Bomb System to Be Used
It was stated that the munitions to be produced under the agreement are the Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) smart bomb system developed by Boeing.
SDB munitions are among the precision-guided bombs that can be launched from fighter aircraft and can strike targets from ranges exceeding approximately 64 kilometres (40 miles). The system plays an important role in modern air operations thanks to its high precision and long range.
Fighter aircraft in the inventory of the Israeli Air Force are reported to have the capability to use the said munitions.
US–Israel Defence Cooperation
The United States has long been Israel’s largest arms supplier. As part of defence cooperation between the two countries, Boeing was commissioned last year by the US Department of Defense with an $8.6 billion contract for the production and delivery of F-15 fighter jets to Israel.
In a previously published report, it was also stated that the Donald Trump administration accelerated the sale of more than 20,000 bombs worth approximately $650 million to Israel by using emergency authorities that bypassed the US Congress.
Additional Ammunition and Helicopter Sales
Officials from the US Department of State also announced that Israel would procure additional ammunition worth $298 million through direct commercial sales.
Meanwhile, earlier this year the US Department of State approved three separate potential defence sales to Israel exceeding $6.5 billion, including AH-64 Apache attack helicopters.
