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Monday, May 3, 2010     GET REAL

Obama administration lifts bar on arms to Israel

WASHINGTON — The Defense Department has awarded a contract for the supply of the C-130J air transport to Israel.

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This marked the first major Pentagon contract for Israel since Obama took office in January 2009. The C-130J deal was approved by the previous administration under then-President George W. Bush but was withheld by Obama for more than a year.

Under the $98.6 million contract, Lockheed Martin would supply one Super Hercules air transport to Israel over the next three years.


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"Lockheed Martin Corp., Marietta, Ga., was awarded a $98,649,000 contract which will provide one C-130J aircraft for the government of Israel," the Pentagon said on April 30.

Officials said Obama approved the C-130J for Israel amid heavy pressure by Congress. They said several members of Congress warned that Obama's continued withholding of weapons and platforms approved by Bush was illegal unless the White House declared an arms embargo on the Jewish state.

"The C-130J was deemed a platform that was not an offensive weapon," an official said.

The Pentagon contract, announced amid a crisis between Jerusalem and Washington, marked a significant reduction in the Israeli C-130J request approved by the Bush administration. In 2008, the administration and Congress approved an Israeli request for up to nine C-130J aircraft along with engines and electronic warfare systems in a project estimated at $1.9 billion.

In March 2009, Israel and the United States signed an agreement for the export of the C-130J to the Jewish state. Neither the Pentagon nor Israel's Defense Ministry announced the accord.

The Pentagon said the C-130J contract also stipulated additional non-developmental items for the aircraft. They said the Pentagon has approved $18.4 million under the Foreign Military Financing Program.

Israel was set to receive about $2.5 billion in U.S. military aid in fiscal 2011. Industry sources said the C-130J costs about $75 million, but the contract was believed to include the installation of Israeli systems on the aircraft.



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