TEL AVIV, Israel, June 9 (UPI) -- Amid growing fears of a new Middle Eastern war, Israel's defense ministry has asked Washington for more JDAM precision-guided bombs for its air force, the Haaretz daily reports.
The ministry has also asked the Pentagon to expand the U.S. arsenal pre-positioned in the Jewish state in December 2009 so that Israeli forces can access the weapons in an emergency, the liberal newspaper reported Tuesday.
Israel first used the Joint Direct Attack Munitions in combat against Hezbollah forces in its 34-day war in July-August 2006. They were used again in Operation Cast Lead, the 22-day invasion of the Gaza Strip launched Dec. 27, 2008, against fighters of the Hamas fundamentalist Palestinian group.
JDAM systems provide precision guidance for "dumb bombs," making them immensely more accurate.
There was nothing to indicate that the request pointed to any imminent operations by the Israeli air force against the Jewish state's main foes, Iran and its Lebanese proxy Hezbollah.
"The priority list reflects the security threats the defense establishment believes Israel will face in the next few years, i.e. the eventuality of a prolonged war, which would necessitate using the (Israeli air force) widely to attack many targets, along with ensuring enough spare parts and supplies," Haaretz commented.
But with regard to the JDAMs, it noted the air force was "seeking to significantly increase the number of such munitions already in its arsenal."
Israel has threatened to launch pre-emptive strikes against Iran's nuclear program, which it considers an existential threat.
Most of these facilities are believed to be buried deep underground and the Israeli air force would need special U.S.-built "bunker-buster" bombs to have any expectation of knocking them out.
JDAMs could be used to strike Iranian air defenses or other accessible above-ground targets.
But they would arguably be of more use against Hezbollah's arsenal of missiles and rockets and their launch sites if new hostilities erupt.
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak, a former military chief of staff who has close relations with the Pentagon and the White House, made the requests during recent visits to Washington.
The ministry's director general, Udi Shani, has also pushed the request in recent meetings with senior officials in the U.S. administration of President Barack Obama and Congress.
Israeli leaders have stressed in recent months that if war breaks out with Hezbollah again, all of Lebanon, and possibly Syria as well, will be considered a target because Hezbollah is now part of the Beirut government.
That will involve far heavier use of air power than was evident in the 2006 conflict, when air operations were aimed primary at Hezbollah.
In 2006, Hezbollah had some 12,000 rockets, mostly short-range weapons. It fired nearly 4,000 into northern Israel.
Israel says Hezbollah now has some 45,000, with hundreds able to hit Tel Aviv and other cities. These weapons will be priority targets for the air force.
The other Israeli requirement for a significant increase in U.S. stockpile of weapons, ammunition and other equipment in Israel underlines the defense establishment's desire for an emergency arsenal, rather than have to wait for a U.S. airlift of the type mounted during the 1973 war against Egypt and Syria when Israel's arsenal became dangerously depleted.
Obama authorized the pre-positioning of weapons and stores worth $800 million for U.S. forces in Israel in 2009. So far equipment valued at $600 million has been put in place.
Israel wants to increase the stockpile to $1.2 billion. Its military uses a lot of U.S. equipment, particularly the air force, and the stored missiles, bombs, armored vehicles and other gear could be quickly absorbed should it be needed.
It isn't clear whether the Obama administration will comply with the Israeli requests.
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's refusal to freeze settlement activity in the West Bank as Obama wants, in a bid to get peace negotiations going again, has caused the most serious rift between the two allies in decades.
Global outrage over the killing of nine Turks by the Israeli navy when it intercepted a flotilla of ships carrying humanitarian aid to blockaded Gaza on May 31 has intensified condemnation of the Jewish state, Netanyahu's right-wing government in particular.
However, Obama has assured Israel that it won't allow the security of the Jewish state to be jeopardized.
