U.S., Israel sign massive military aid deal; $38B, 10 years
The United States and Israel have signed a new aid deal that will give the Israeli military $38 billion over the course of 10 years. It’s the largest such agreement the U.S. has ever had with any country.
After months of negotiations, the unprecedented deal was signed at the State Department Sept. 14.
The aid totals $3.8 billion a year — up from $3.1 billion the U.S. gave Israel annually under the current 10-year deal that expires in 2018.
Under the agreement, Israel’s ability to spend part of the funds on Israeli military products will be phased out, eventually requiring all of the funds to be spent on American military industries.
Israel’s preference for spending some of the funds internally had been a major sticking point in the deal. AP
Navy secretary defends his unusual picks for ship names
U.S. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus has raised a few eyebrows with some of the names he’s picked for naval ships.
Why, critics questioned, would he name a ship in honor of the late gay rights leader Harvey Milk or after former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords when there are plenty of military heroes to choose from?
Mabus says he’s honoring people who have shown heroism, just as past navy secretaries have done.
He believes that by looking outside of the military, at times, for these heroes, he can help connect people with the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps.
Mabus is officially announcing five new ship names on visits to Mississippi and Massachusetts beginning Sept. 17.
Among the group, a replenishment oiler will bear the name of abolitionist Sojourner Truth. AP
NTSB: Pilot turned failing jet to desert before Nellis crash
Investigators say a civilian contractor pilot who ejected from a Vietnam War-era military jet near Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., last month steered the failing aircraft toward the desert before it crashed.
The National Transportation Safety Board said the pilot reported the Douglas A-4K Skyhawk lost power approaching a runway before he parachuted safely away Aug. 18. Officials said he wasn’t seriously injured.
The pilot wasn’t identified by the military or his employer, Draken International of Lakeland, Fla.
Company chief executive Sean Gustafson declined Sept. 13 to comment.
The NTSB preliminary report says the aircraft crashed and burned about a mile north of Nellis. No one on the ground was injured.
The pilot was returning after portraying enemy aircraft in an air combat role-playing exercise over the Nevada Test and Training Range. AP