Israel
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu proposed a nearly $1 billion increase to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) budget. According to a press release from the Prime Minister’s Office, the money would fund “routine military operations, the reinforcement of the security barrier which separates Israel from the Gaza Strip, as well as other missions…”
The U.S. House and Senate passed a $740 billion National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2021, which includes funding for various areas of U.S.-Israel cooperation. The bill includes the annual $3.8 billion in defense assistance to the Jewish State as part of a 2016 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).
The U.S. Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley visited Israel in late July to discuss “regional security challenges” with senior Israeli military and intelligence commanders. Gen. Milley held talks at a military facility in Southern Israel and a video conference with Prime Minister Netanyahu.
Siemplify Cyber will join the Israeli Cyber Consortium, bringing new automation and other cybersecurity capabilities to the group. Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) leads the consortium, which the Ministry of Economy set up in 2016 to help its customers respond to hacking and security incidents.
Israeli Military Technology
A delegation of Israeli scientists and healthcare workers flew to India armed with a variety of new COVID-19 testing capabilities. Working with their counterparts in the subcontinent, the scientists hope to deploy new technologies that could detect the coronavirus from saliva in as little as 30 minutes.
Foreign Military Sales
After delivering the first Trophy Active Protection System (APC) to the U.S. Army late last year, defense contractor Leonardo recently completed installation of the APC onto eight M1A1 Abram’s tanks deployed with the 18th Military Police Brigade in Germany. Rafael originally developed Trophy in Israel to intercept rocket-propelled grenades and anti-tank missiles fired at armored vehicles.
IAI announced the successful test flight of a modified Heron TP built specifically for the German military. In 2018, Berlin signed a nine-year, $600 million to procure an undisclosed number of drones from Israel and train two 35-person support teams in the Jewish State.
Regional Developments
The Pentagon officially canceled Turkey’s purchase of eight F-35A fifth-generation fighter jets from Lockheed Martin. Last year, Ankara took delivery of a Russian-made S-400 missile defense system, posing a risk to the plane’s stealth technology, and deemed in violation of Countering America’s Adversaries through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) in Washington.
Sources inside Russia’s defense industry say the Egyptian government agreed to purchase 500 Russian-made T-90MS tanks for an undisclosed amount. The Egyptian army already operates over 1,000 U.S.-designed M1A1 tanks, some of which Cairo assembled indigenously.
The U.S. Defense Department released a report detailing Turkey’s deployment of between 3,500 and 3,800 Syrian fighters to Libya over the first few months of 2020. Ankara paid the mercenaries to fight along with militias in Tripoli against commander Khalifa Hifter, who controls eastern Libya.
