Three agency sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, noted that the request was submitted on April 19. According to them, the US presidential administration has not yet begun a formal assessment.
The State Department and the National Security Council declined to comment.
The agency notes that the request is separate from the $95 billion in additional funding that Congress plans to pass this weekend for military aid to Israel and Ukraine. One of the officials said the US has not yet begun the process of reviewing the request, which in any case will take many months and does not guarantee a sale.
The bulk of the sale will be tank ammunition, with the other portion coming from Oshkosh Corp.'s family of medium tactical vehicles, one of the officials said.
The agency notes that the new request also differs from a previous request to sell Israel more than 1,000 500-pound MK-82 bombs and more than 1,000 250-pound small-diameter bombs, as well as fuses for other munitions, which are still awaiting congressional approval. If the contract is approved and signed, these ammunition will be delivered no earlier than 2025.
The Wall Street Journal previously reported that the administration was discussing Israel's $1 billion request for 120mm tank ammunition, vehicles and mortar shells.
As Bloomberg notes, any such request would again put Joe Biden's administration in a delicate position, as the head of the White House said that American support for Israel's defense was "iron" after the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023.
Aggravation of confrontation between Israel and Iran
Israel's need for additional weapons came to a head on April 13 when its air defenses, aided by the United States, Britain and others, repelled a barrage of about 300 drones and missiles fired by Iran. This has raised fears of tit-for-tat escalation and heightened concerns about a wider war in the Middle East region.
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