(Asien) Saudi Arabiens Luftwaffe

[Nightwatch]

So wie es aussieht gibt es wohl doch KEINE F-15 Silent Eagle für die Saudis, stattdessen recht wohl F-15S ohne die neusten Technologien.
Und anstädnige Lenkwaffen wirds auch keine geben...

U.S. to Sell F-15s to Saudis

The Obama administration plans to sell advanced F-15 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia but won't equip them with long-range weapons systems and other arms whose inclusion was strongly opposed by Israel, diplomats and officials said.

The proposed $30 billion, 10-year arms package, which would be one of the biggest single deals of its kind, has been a source of behind-the-scenes tension during months of negotiations. Israeli officials have repeatedly conveyed their concerns in private that the U.S. risks undermining its military advantage by equipping regional rivals with top-flight technologies.

U.S. officials say they provided "clarifications" in recent weeks about the deal to help damp Israel's qualms. Two officials close to the negotiations said Israel still had some reservations, but that the country isn't expected to challenge the sale by lobbying Congress, which can hold up the deal or push for assurances of its own. The administration is expected to formally notify Congress of its plans as early as next month.

The information-sharing with Israel is part of a longstanding commitment by successive U.S. administrations to maintain its military edge in the region. Congress has the power to block any weapons sales deemed detrimental to Israel's military advantage.

[...]

Earlier this year, Saudi armed forces sustained heavy losses during extended skirmishes with Yemeni rebels on the southern border, the kind of flare-up a new crop of fighter jets would seemingly be ideal to fight.

But the scope and size of the Saudi deal has unnerved Israel and its allies in Congress at a time when U.S.-Israeli relations are particularly unsteady.

Under the proposed sale, the 84 Boeing Co. F-15s for Saudi Arabia will have onboard targeting systems similar to those offered to other foreign governments, officials say. They aren't as technologically advanced as F-15s flown by the U.S. military.

More critically for Israel, an official in the region said, was the Obama administration's decision to not offer Saudi Arabia certain weapons components. Top among them: so-called standoff systems, which are advanced long-range weapons that can be attached to F-15s for use in offensive operations against land- and sea-based targets.

[...]

It isn't uncommon for the U.S. to sell top-end equipment with less-advanced weapons systems and armor. In previous deals, the Saudis provided special assurances to the U.S. that they wouldn't base F-15s near the Israeli border, but those restrictions have lapsed.

"We have to plan for shifting sands," a senior Israeli official said, pointing to the 1979 Iranian revolution and gains by Islamists in Turkey and Lebanon as justification for being wary of a heavily armed Saudi military.

[...]

U.S. officials say the F-15s in the package will be "very capable" aircraft, comparable to the F-15s flown by South Korea and Singapore, which are among Asia's most advanced militaries, said a senior U.S. defense official.

[...]

Washington coupled its message about the Saudi configuration with a prod for Israel to commit to buying the planned F-35, also known as the Joint Strike Fighter, which Lockheed Martin Corp. says it could start delivering as early as 2015, around the same time the Saudis would begin to get new F-15s. The Joint Strike Fighter is a far more sophisticated plane than the F-15.

[...]

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The evil Juice did it again :lol:

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Damit ist die F-15SE wohl gestorben.