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| By Israel Insider staff August 24, 2008 |
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The United States has turned down a request by Defense Minister Ehud Barak to purchase Boeing 767 aircraft optimized for mid-air refueling, apparently fearing that the sale would appear to support an Israeli strike on Iran, Channel 10 news reported on Thursday. A Barak aide told The Jerusalem Post that he was "unfamiliar with the content of the Channel 10 report."
Former Military Intelligence officer Col. (res.) Ephriam Kam of the Institute for National Securities Studies at Tel Aviv University was puzzled by the news, saying he was unsure whether the report was accurate. "We can already refuel in mid-air," Kam said, adding that the report raised more questions than answers.
The IAF has mid-air refueling capabilities and possesses seven F-16I fighter jets with an estimated 2,100 kilometer range, as well as dozens of F-15I long-range fighter jets, all capable of flying for thousands of kilometers without refueling.
According to Channel 10, Barak made the request during his visit to the US last month.
On Tuesday, the IDF announced plans to bring into service Boeing 707 aircraft, which also can refuel fighter jets in mid-air. Boeing 707s "can refuel other airplanes while in the air, thus enabling them to continue flying," the IDF said. It added that "the last project involving a refueling system took place six years ago."
The 707 initiative, called Project Green Salad, will cost the military NIS 80 million, and has been placed under the auspices of Israel Aerospace Industries. If that's "salad," one has to wonder what will be the main course.
"We are talking about a very big project that will give the IAF another refueling system," said Maj. Shlomi Shefer, head of the air force's Aerial Refueling Department. "The fact that the IAF will have another [model] of these aircraft means that more planes will be able to achieve their mission. We expect this aircraft to have the ability to refuel other planes in a short amount of time."
The reports over the air force's long-range capabilities came as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who apparently failed to get his rocket off, yammered another prediction of Israel's demise. In a message posted on his presidential Web site, he described Israel as a "germ of corruption" that would be "removed soon." |
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