Latest news with #BoeingKC-46
Middle East Eye
08-07-2025
- Business
- Middle East Eye
US building air bases and ammunition warehouses in Israel
The US is building new infrastructure for Israeli aircraft and helicopters, along with other military buildings, according to public records. The current projects total more than $250m, with future ones expected to exceed $1bn, according to a call for interested contractors originally scheduled for June but postponed due to the Israel-Iran conflict. The Israeli news site Haaretz reported on the public documents on Monday. The US Army Corps of Engineers is using contractors to build ammunition depots and facilities for refuelling aircraft and helicopters, along with concrete structures for Israeli military bases. The documents also show that the US is looking for contractors to perform building maintenance repairs, including on air fields. One project for hangers, maintenance rooms and storage facilities for new Boeing KC-46 tankers that Israel is expected to receive in the coming years is projected to cost over $100m. Another project to house CH-53K helicopters is projected to cost up to $250m. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters The US is also seeking tenders for the construction of ammunition storage buildings, which are estimated to cost up to $100m. Another tender spans seven years and is priced not to exceed $900m. It includes maintenance, repairs, construction, demolition, and infrastructure improvements at unspecified locations for the Israeli Ministry of Defence. Hamas ambush kills five soldiers in Israeli-controlled 'buffer zone' Read More » The projects are funded by foreign military financing. Israel receives $3.8bn annually in military aid. Under this system, the US and Israel decide how to spend the funds which go to US defence contractors. Since the Hamas-led 7 October 2023 attack on southern Israel, it has also received supplemental military aid totalling about $18bn. The US has previously used military aid to construct and maintain Israeli infrastructure. Previous public tender documents show that in 2012, the US did large-scale work at the Nevatim air base. The Washington Post reported at the time that the US was involved in the construction of a secret complex, which was named site '911'. The construction projects reported on Monday were planned before the recent Israel-Iran conflict. On Tuesday, Reuters cited an Israeli official confirming that Iranian ballistic missiles hit some Israeli military sites during their unprecedented 12-day conflict with Iran.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
US Congress seeks to boost Navy and Air Force fleets in 2026 bill
By Mike Stone WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The House Appropriations Committee's Defense subcommittee released its draft bill for fiscal-year 2026 late on Tuesday, which aims to buy one additional F-35 jet versus the Pentagon's 2025 budget request and make investments in naval vessels, and missile defenses. The powerful committee's draft of its version of the 2026 purchasing bill was released ahead of any formal input from the Trump administration's Pentagon - which has been delayed. The language in the bill shows the Republican-controlled Congress' continued focus on modernizing the U.S. armed forces but sets up a tug of war with the Pentagon over what could be conflicting priorities. The bill, which still needs input from the full House and Senate, directs the Pentagon to buy 69 Lockheed Martin F-35 fighters for $8.5 billion, 15 Boeing KC-46 aerial refueling tankers for $2.7 billion, and three F-15EX aircraft for $345 million as well as $3.8 billion in funding for Northrop Grumman's B-21 stealth bomber program. The Pentagon's 2026 budget request, which has not been released, requests 47 F-35s, according to media reports. The Navy's non-fighter aviation procurement includes four E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft for $1.2 billion and 19 CH-53K heavy transport helicopters for $2 billion. The bill also emphasizes missile defense, with approximately $13 billion to Missile Defense Agency and the Space Force program's support of the "Golden Dome" initiative. This money would be above the approximately $25 billion that Congress has earmarked for Golden Dome in its reconciliation bill. The committee's draft bill would also give military personnel a 3.8% increase in basic pay, effective January 1, 2026. The bill directs the Pentagon to procure 28 naval vessels, including two Virginia-class submarines made by General Dynamics at $6.2 billion. The Columbia-class submarine program would receive $5.3 billion. Both programs have additional funding for advance procurement underscoring the strategic importance of the United States' underwater fleet. Surface fleet additions would include two DDG-51 destroyers, refueling ships, towing and rescue ships and surveillance vessels.
