AL-QUDS (Dispatches) – The Zionist regime has signed a deal with the United States to buy 12 Lockheed Martin Corp CH-53K helicopters and two Boeing Co KC-46 refueling planes, the regime’s war ministry said on Friday, estimating the total price at around $3.1 billion.
The deal, signed on Thursday, is part of an upgrade of regime’s air force and includes an option to buy six additional helicopters, a ministry statement said.
It said the first helicopters were due to arrive in the occupied territories in 2026. Brigadier-General Shimon Tsentsiper, chief of materiel for the air force, told the regime’s Army Radio on Thursday that the refueling planes on order would not be delivered before 2025.
The U.S. State Department approved the sale of up to eight KC-46 tanker aircraft and related equipment to the regime last March, marking the first time that Washington has allowed Tel Aviv to buy new tankers.
The United States signed an agreement in September 2016 to give the regime $38 billion in military assistance over the next decade, the largest such aid package in U.S. history.
The tax payer money granted to consecutive administrations of the Zionist regimes is a lightning rod for criticism in the U.S., which ultimately goes to the coffers of American arms manufacturers, but lubricates Tel Aviv’s war machine.
U.S. military aid to the occupying regime has skyrocketed over the past several years while the regime’s forces are engaged in blatant human rights violations against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and aggression against Syria, Lebanon and other countries.
At least 260 Palestinians, including 66 children, were killed in the regime’s bombardment of Gaza in 11 days of war back in May. Zionist airstrikes also brought widespread devastation to the already impoverished territory.
U.S. President Joe Biden reaffirmed the U.S.’ support for the regime at that time and pledged to help it replenish its so-called Iron Dome system, resisting pressure at home to take a tougher stance against Zionist aggression.