Special to WorldTribune.com

TEL AVIV — Israel has been overhauling U.S. military surplus.

The military’s Technological and Logistics Directorate has been assigned responsibility to refurbish thousands of combat vehicles and weapons acquired from U.S. surplus.

The administration of President Barack Obama approved the transfer of U.S. military surplus, most of it deployed in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq over the last decade.

“It’s much cheaper than production in Israel or purchasing new material from the United States,” a military source said.

The directorate has been completing a 13-year project to overhaul 150,000 M-16 assault rifles from U.S. Army surplus. The source said the military sought to avoid procuring new M-16 short-barrel rifles, which cost $1,200 a unit.

Washington has also approved the delivery of 2,000 Humvee combat vehicles to Israel, deployed in Iraq until 2011.

The sources said the Humvees would be refurbished and enhanced with anti-tank missiles and systems to detect improvised explosive devices.

“They will replace outdated reconnaissance vehicles like the M462 Abir and the old American Jeep [M151],” Lt. Col. Amir Shantel, head of the project, told the Israeli website Ynet.

The directorate also plans to acquire 1,600 sports utility vehicles from
U.S. Army surplus. Israel intends to overhaul some of the vehicles and
disassemble the rest for spare parts.

  Afghanistan, Bargain: Israel refurbishing U.S. Army surplus vehicles from Iraq, Humvees, Lt. Col. Amir Shantel, Technological and Logistics Directorate