Boeing has signed a contract worth $289 mln with Israel to supply up to 5,000 air-launched smart bombs, Reuters reports.
The deal is not linked to the current U.S.-Israeli air strikes on Iran, with deliveries expected to begin in about 36 months, according to an earlier report by Bloomberg.
The order includes Boeing’s Small Diameter Bomb, a precision-guided munition designed to be launched from aircraft at targets more than 40 miles, or about 64 kilometres, away.
Last year Boeing secured an $8.6bn contract from the U.S. Department of Defense to manufacture and deliver F-15 fighter jet aircraft to Israel under a foreign military sales agreement between the two governments.
The United States has long been Israel’s largest supplier of military equipment.
Reuters reported last week that the administration of Donald Trump used emergency powers to bypass United States Congress in order to accelerate the sale of more than 20,000 bombs to Israel valued at about $650 mln.
A U.S. Department of State official also said Israel plans to purchase an additional $298 mln worth of key munitions through direct commercial sales.
Earlier this year the State Department approved more than $6.5 bn in potential military sales to Israel across three separate agreements, including Boeing AH-64 Apache helicopters.
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