F-15E Strike Eagle. Wikimedia
Strategy Page: Murphy's Law: America Mysteriously Denies Arab Allies New Aircraft
For two years the United States has delayed action on a Qatari attempt to buy 36 (and eventually 73) F-15E fighter bombers (for nearly $4 billion) and Kuwaiti efforts to buy 28 F-18E fighters (for $3 billion). The American Department of Defense and State Department approved the deal and there was support in Congress but for reasons unclear the American president refused to approve (or disapprove) the deal or even explain why not.
Kuwait has long used the older F-18A and wants the latest model to improve its defenses against an increasingly aggressive Iran next door. With a max weight of 29 tons, an F-18E can carry up to eight tons of bombs. Combat range is 720 kilometers, and the aircraft was designed as a fighter.
Qatar still wants the F-15E, which Israel and Saudi Arabia are both major users of but in the meantime has bought 24 Rafale fighters from France. It is still a mystery of how tiny Qatar (population 2.2 million) justifies the purchase of over 73 F-15Es.
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WNU Editor: One word ... Israel.
1 comment:
air superiority and an unrivalled air to air track record, it would be dumb to give any islamic nation states more of an edge...in addition to what the u.s. and the rest of the world already has.
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