The majority of Israel's military arsenal is composed of equipment supplied via United States military aid programs. [1]
The United States have supplied Israel with a variety of weapon systems. Israel has been the largest annual recipient of direct U.S. economic and military assistance since
1976 and the largest total recipient since World War II. [2]
(this is not a comprehensive listing)
The list below is from Appendix 1 of "U.S. Military Assistance and Arms Transfers to Israel: U.S. Aid, Companies Fuel Israeli Military." A World Policy Institute Issue Brief. By Frida Berrigan and William D. Hartung. July 20, 2006.[1] Appendix 1 is titled "U.S.-Supplied Weaponry in Israel’s Military Inventory". From that report: "The bulk of Israel’s current arsenal is composed of equipment supplied under U.S. military aid programs."[1]. From another report (January 2006): "Recent U.S. Military Sales to Israel. Israel uses almost 75% of its FMF [Foreign Military Financing (direct military aid)] funds to purchase U.S. defense equipment."[3]
Land warfare systems. Over 700 M-60 Patton tanks. Over 6,000 armoured personnel carriers
Note: This is not a comprehensive listing of U.S. military sales to Israel.
| Year | FMS | DCS | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | $766,026,000 | $4,019,000 | $770,045,000 |
| 2002 | $629,426,000 | $1,427,000 | $630,853,000 |
| 2003 | $845,952,000 | $16,455,000 | $862,407,000 |
| 2004 | $878,189,000 | $418,883,000 | $1,297,072,000 |
| 2005 | $1,652,582,000 | $1,110,223,000 | $2,762,805,000 |
| 2001 - 2005 | $4,772,175,000 | $1,551,007,000 | $6,323,182,000 |
Israel deals directly with U.S. companies for the vast majority of its military purchases from the United States. U.S. antiboycott regulations make it illegal for American citizens and companies to participate in foreign boycotts that the United States does not sanction.[6] Other states have a US$100,000 minimum purchase amount per defense contract, while Israel is allowed to purchase military items for less than US$100,000 as required. [2]
The U.S. underwrites Israel's research and development of weapons contributing significant amounts of money to Israeli defense projects such as the Merkava battle tank and the Lavi ground-attack aircraft. Israel is also permitted special access to programmes such as the F-35 Lightning II fighter development programme, although cooperation was temporarily suspended following allegations that Israel was trading military secrets with China.[7]
Note: This is not a comprehensive listing of US ESF and military aid to Israel.
| Year | FMF | ESF | Supplementals | NADR-ATA | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | $1,975,644,000 | $838,000,000 | $2,813,644,000 | ||
| 2002 | $2,040,000,000 | $720,000,000 | $28,000,000 | $2,788,000,000 | |
| 2003 | $2,086,350,000 | $596,100,000 | $1,000,000,000 | $3,682,450,000 | |
| 2004 | $2,147,256,000 | $477,168,000 | $2,624,424,000 | ||
| 2005 | $2,202,240,000 | $357,120,000 | $50,000,000 | $210,000 | $2,609,570,000 |
| 2006 (estimated) | $2,257,200,000 | $273,600,000 | $526,000 | $2,531,326,000 | |
| 2007 (requested) | $2,340,000,000 | $120,000,000 | $320,000 | $2,460,320,000 | |
| Total 2001-2007 | $15,048,690,000 | $3,381,988,000 | $1,050,000,000 | $29,056,000 | $19,509,734,000 |
Israel is the largest recipient of U.S. Foreign Military Financing (FMF) in all respects. Israel has received more American financial aid, loan assistance and FMF than any other nationstate in history since its creation in 1948.[8] Over the past decade, the United States has transferred more than US $17 billion in military aid to Israel, which helped transform the Israel Defense Forces into one of the most technically advanced military forces in the world.