Boeing accelerated delivery of 1,000 bombs to Israel as the country steps up airstrikes in the Gaza Strip, industry and defense officials said.
The 250-pound small diameter bombs, part of a 2021 contract, were flown from a U.S. Air Force base by Israeli Air Force transport, according to an industry official who asked not to be identified discussing the arrangements.
A senior defense official who spoke to reporters Monday said that munitions being rushed to Israel weren’t part of a “foreign military sale” between governments but rather part of a “direct commercial sale” between the contractor and Israel that was already on the books.
A second defense official said Tuesday that the first official was referring to expedited transactions under a May 2021 direct commercial sale between Boeing and Israel, which the State Department valued at $735 million over several years. It also includes kits to convert unguided bombs into GPS-guided joint direct attack munitions. No JDAM kits have been sent yet, an official said.
The May 2021 sale was controversial when Congress was notified of it by the Biden administration. Sen. Bernie Sanders and some House members moved to block the proposed sale in protest over Israeli attacks in Gaza at the time, but it wasn’t voted on, according to the Congressional Research Service.
A Boeing spokesperson declined to comment. According to a U.S. Air Force fact sheet, the small diameter bomb’s small size “inherently reduces the probability of collateral damage.”
Separately, the Biden administration is expected to announce fresh supplies of weapons to Israel, which receives more than $3 billion in U.S. military aid every year.