October 5, 2007: Israel is
rebuilding its war reserve stocks. That's the stockpile of munitions, spare
parts and replacement equipment needed to support a month, or more, of intense
combat. The exact composition of these stocks is a military secret. These stocks had been allowed to run down
over the last decade. This was partly because none of Israel's neighbors seemed
able, or inclined, to start a conventional war. Then there was the Palestinian
terror campaign that began seven years ago, which diverted attention, and
money, from conventional war. Then the war with Hizbollah in 2006 used up a lot
of smart bombs and other munitions from the war reserve. So efforts are
underway to rebuild the war reserve stocks. In the last year, the Israeli Air
Force has received about half a billion dollars worth of U.S. smart bombs and
missiles. One the way are 10,000 JDAM kits (that turn a dumb bomb into a smart
one), 4,000 Paveway laser guided bombs, 11,500 dumb bombs, 2,000 cluster bombs,
and 700 air-to-air missiles.
Israeli manufacturers of
competing missiles and smart bombs are not happy with all this American stuff
going into the War Reserve. But the Americans are paying for it, and Israeli
manufacturers cannot produce the quantities desired as quickly as the Americans
can. Some 75 percent of the $2-3 billion in U.S. aid Israel receives each year
must, by American law, be spent on U.S. goods. There is a sense of urgency
about the war reserve stocks, as there is apparently there is some concern that
Syria might do something foolish, something that would require the Israeli
armed forces to use a lot of smart bombs and missiles, to take care of.
