US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel revealed on 31 October that Israel will buy six Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft. The United States announced in April that it would sell V-22s to Israel, making the Jewish state the first export customer for the aircraft, although the number of aircraft involved was not revealed.
"Earlier this year, the United States reached a historic agreement, an agreement to open up even more advanced military capabilities to Israel," Hagel said in a speech during an Anti-Defamation League dinner in New York. "One of these capabilities is the V-22 Osprey, a tilt-rotor aircraft that will greatly enhance the range and effectiveness of Israeli special forces. I am pleased to announce that we are working with the Israeli government to provide them with six new V-22s."
The Israel Air Force is expected to use its V-22s in the search and rescue role to support long-range air strikes, as well as for special forces insertion and extraction.
"I have directed the Marine Corps to make sure that this order is expedited. That means Israel will get six V-22s out of the next order to go on the assembly line, and they will be compatible with other IDF capabilities," Hagel added, indicating the aircraft will have Israeli avionics.
No foreign customers were mentioned in the most recent V-22 production contracts, which were placed in June and included 93 MV-22s for the US Marine Corps and seven CV-22s for the US Air Force.
