(JNS) Lenny Ben-David - Sometime in the last decade, the relationship between the U.S. and Israel switched from "patron-client" to "partnership." Intelligence sharing became more extensive and energetic; the development of new weaponry to be deployed on, under, and above the battlefield expanded; and joint exercises between air forces, navies and special forces went far beyond anything imagined before. Israeli defense industries have invented and developed state-of-the-art cyber programs, anti-missile weapons, drones, pilotless armed UAVs, tank protection systems, and avionics. In effect, Israel became an overseas version of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency for the U.S. Defense Department. Israel has provided the U.S. with real-time weapons-testing of U.S. systems in very hostile skies, particularly the F-35 stealth fighter. Israel's Trophy active protection system shields U.S. Abrams tanks from RPGs and anti-tank missiles. Foreign policy scholar Walter Russell Mead described the U.S-Israel relationship today as "one of the most intimate and effective partnerships in the world....The integration of Israeli and American defense and tech industries contributes substantially to the security and the prosperity of both countries." The writer served 25 years in senior posts in AIPAC in Washington and Jerusalem, and as Israel's Deputy Chief of Mission in Washington.
2022-05-19 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive