Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, December 1998, pages 43, 94

Defense & Intelligence

In Addition to $3 Billion in Foreign Aid, Israel Receiving $104 Million From Pentagon for Arrow Missile

By Shawn L. Twing

U.S. legislators have added more than $104 million for U.S.-Israeli defense programs to the Pentagon’s 1999 budget, continuing an annual clandestine U.S. aid pipeline directly to Israeli military industries.

The additional aid money for fiscal year 1999 (which began Oct. 1, 1998) was added for six defense programs including the Arrow anti-tactical ballistic missile, the Tactical High Energy Laser (THEL), the boost phase intercept (BPI) program, reactive armor tiles for Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, 600-gallon conformal fuel tanks for F-16 combat aircraft, and a new program called the improved tactical air-launched decoy (ITALD).

Arrow ATBM: $59.6 million. The House of Representatives added $9 million to the Clinton administration’s request for $50.6 for the Arrow in fiscal year 1999, for a total of $59.6 million. The Arrow, designed to intercept medium-range tactical ballistic missiles, already has received more than $800 million from U.S. taxpayers. Despite a successful test of the Arrow in September, when it intercepted a computer-simulated target, the United States still has no plans to use the Arrow system to protect American forces.

Instead, the United States is researching the possibility of integrating U.S. theater ballistic missile defense systems like the Patriot missile with Israel’s Arrow, but primarily for Israeli use. Some U.S. and Israeli analysts even are suggesting that the United States explore and pay for options to integrate the Arrow not only with the Patriot, but also with ship-based missile defenses using the highly advanced Aegis tracking system and state-of-the-art naval ATBM technology. The idea is to provide Israel with a U.S.-supplied missile defense umbrella stretching from ship-based defenses in the Mediterranean to ship-based defenses in the Gulf. The estimated cost for developing and deploying this protective shield on Israel’s behalf is conservatively estimated at two to three billion dollars.

Justification for such a program hinges exclusively on Israel’s perceived need for an advanced missile defense system. Little, if any, evidence has been presented to date showing that integrating the Arrow with existing U.S. missile defense systems will benefit the United States.

Justification for such a program hinges exclusively on Israel’s perceived need.

Despite the fact that the United States has no operational need or plans for the Arrow missile, which is a large, immobile and, compared to its American counterparts, relatively low-technology ATBM, U.S. legislators are signaling an even greater willingness to fund the program at ever-higher levels. At the Israeli-Palestinian summit meeting in October at the Wye Plantation in Maryland, the Clinton administration is rumored to have promised some $1 billion in aid to both parties. The lion’s share of that aid, more than 85 percent, is slated for Israel. Part of Israel’s $850 million is rumored to be still more funding for the Arrow missile.

If the United States further rewards Israel with additional funding for the Arrow, it will not be the first time. Last year, the Senate added to an emergency U.S. disaster relief bill $90 million for Israel to purchase a third Arrow missile battery, although in the past U.S. officials have insisted that the United States will not pay to deploy the Arrow system.

Tactical High Energy Laser (THEL): $12.5 million. The THEL program is an offshoot of the U.S.-Israel Nautilus laser program that was on the verge of cancellation in 1996. Following a successful test of the laser, where it ruptured the fuel tank of a Katyusha rocket (like those used by Hezbollah guerrillas in southern Lebanon), Congress appropriated more than $100 million for research and development for the program over the next two years.

The United States has not defined an operational need for the THEL program, and already is working on much more advanced laser defense programs for itself. The U.S. Airborne Laser program (ABL), for example, mounts a high-energy laser on a converted Boeing 747 that is designed to hover high in the Earth’s atmosphere above or near a battlefield and shoot down enemy ballistic missiles shortly after launch.

Israel’s plans for the Nautilus laser are literally more down-to-Earth. Currently the THEL program is focusing on providing Israel with a defense against Katyusha rockets fired by Hezbollah into Israel’s self-declared “security zone” in southern Lebanon. The key consequence of this program is that it gives Israel access to cutting-edge American laser technology and the financial resources to pursue such a costly program aggressively. Despite assurances that this research is of mutual benefit to the U.S. and Israel, little if any evidence has been made public showing that keeping the Nautilus program alive for an additional three years has benefitted the United States in any way.

Boost Phase Intercept (BPI): $6.5 million. Israel’s boost-phase intercept program researches the possibilities of using unmanned and manned aircraft armed with air-to-air missiles to loiter near enemy airspace and shoot down enemy ballistic missiles shortly after launch, during a missile’s short and vulnerable boost phase. This technology is particularly effective against unconventional weapons because missile payloads would be dispersed over the missile-launching country’s own territory, which would seriously discourage the use of chemical, biological and, to a lesser extent, nuclear weapons.

Israel is a pioneer in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology and regularly competes for and wins U.S. and international contracts, often against American defense companies. If the Israelis develop an effective means to use UAVs and air-to-air missiles to destroy missiles in their boost phase, lucrative contracts surely will follow.

Also, it is rumored that the Israelis are using their Python-4 missile in their BPI program, which incorporates a substantial amount of U.S. technology and know-how. Unfortunately, the combination of American technology, American taxpayer money, and Israeli research and development, may give the Israelis the means to dominate a developing industry at the expense of their American competitors.

Reactive Armor for Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles: $16.5 million. For each of the past four fiscal years, the U.S. government has appropriated at least $16 million for Israel’s Raphael Armaments company to outfit Bradley IFV’s with reactive armor. This subsidy comes at a cost. At least three U.S. armor makers manufacture similar armor, yet Raphael continues to win many armor contracts it pursues from the Pentagon.

Nor do these awards depend upon superior quality of Raphael’s products. One example, as reported in the March 1998 Washington Report, involved U.S. armor manufacturer Foster-Miller, Inc. The company complained publicly last year that the Pentagon’s Tank Armor and Automotive Command (TACOM) was not fairly evaluating Raphael’s claims of its armor capabilities. At issue was a multimillion-dollar contract awarded to Raphael, over the protests of Foster-Miller, which claimed that Raphael simply could not meet both the armor ballistic requirements and the weight limitations of that contract.

Foster-Miller asked that TACOM weigh Raphael’s armor package and, if it met the requirements, the U.S. company would drop its opposition. TACOM refused, and Raphael was awarded the contract.

In September 1998, however, TACOM terminated that contract with Raphael citing “coverage issues,” according to a TACOM representative. “Coverage issues” has been interpreted to mean that Raphael was unable to provide the necessary amount of armor without exceeding the weight limitation imposed by TACOM, which was the central argument of Foster-Miller from the start.

Conformal Fuel Tanks: $4 million. Another boost from the Pentagon for Israel’s defense industry was the purchase of conformal fuel tanks for F-16 combat aircraft developed by Israeli Military Industries (IMI). These tanks hold 600 gallons of fuel, a substantial increase over existing tanks on F-16s, which extends the range of fighters outfitted with them. Israeli defense officials currently are exploring a variety of options for selling the tanks, including partnering with U.S. firms to market and develop these fuel tanks for inclusion on all new F-16s. If successful, IMI could receive tens of millions of dollars in revenue, as the F-16 is the most popular aircraft for sale in the world today.

Among the potential customers for Israeli-developed conformal fuel tanks are the United Arab Emirates’ fleet of 80 F-16s ordered this year from U.S. defense contractor Lockheed Martin.

Improved Tactical Air Launched Decoy (ITALD): $8 million. Another new addition to Israel’s annual Pentagon subsidy is the ITALD program. Although public information about it is limited, the basics are clear. ITALD researches using air-launched missiles to mimic the radar and other signatures of U.S. and Israeli combat aircraft. These missiles are launched from a safe distance into enemy territory and, when enemy surface-to-air missiles and other air defenses target them, the enemy systems are then targeted in turn for destruction by allied aircraft.

Conclusion

Congressional and Clinton administration willingness to provide Israel with substantial amounts of additional aid annually shows no real signs of tapering off. There are certain core programs—Arrow, THEL, and reactive armor among them—that receive annual infusions of U.S. aid with little or no evidence of any direct benefit to the United States.

This year’s inclusion of two new items, the conformal fuel tanks and ITALD, demonstrates that the Israelis are aggressively pursuing options to keep U.S. aid flowing. Israel’s reasons for doing so are clear. Just as bank robber Willy Sutton said he robbed banks because “that’s where the money is,” Israel looks to the Pentagon’s massive budget for supplemental funding every year. And this year, in addition to its more than $3 billion in combined military and economic assistance from the U.S. foreign aid budget, the Israelis received $104.1 million from the Pentagon’s budget for their efforts.