Israeli Weakness

Imagine if Uncle Sam ever decided to cut the military boondoggle . . .

Israel's Military Strength Declines 30%

Friday, June 2, 2006
TEL AVIV — Israel's military, hampered by a budget shortfull, has suspended major programs in the army and navy.

"With the current defense budget, we are scratching the bottom," former Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh, a Labor Party Knesset member, said. "Our military strength over the last three to four years has declined by 30 percent as a result of cuts in the budget. If we don't preserve our military superiority, we won't be here."

Officials and industry sources said the Israel Defense Forces has blocked approval of major procurement projects required for the war against the Palestinian Authority and Hizbullah, Middle East Newsline reported. They said that virtually every project not financed by U.S. military aid has been affected.



"The 2006 budget and the multi-year vision had already been agreed to and signed," Defense Minister Amir Peretz said. "As part of coalition agreements, it was also determined that all budget deliberations would begin in 2007 and not 2006."
Officials said the Cabinet decision would cancel or delay key projects not financed by the $2.2 billion of annual U.S. military aid. They said some of these projects had been planned for launch over the next year.

"When you cut the budget in July, it's clear that you can't cut in an optimal way," said David Ivry, a former air force commander and director-general of the Defense Ministry. "To cut projects is the least optimal."

Officials said virtually every new procurement project in the navy has been slashed or delayed. They said this has included plans to purchase everything from the enhanced Dolphin-class diesel submarine from Germany, corvettes from the United States as well as indigenous unmanned surface vessels.

"The navy has told us send us your USVs and we'll try them," an industry source said. "But there's no way they will buy them. There's no money."

The army has suspended or reduced numerous programs as well. They include the procurement of a long-range guided rocket as well as miniature unmanned aerial vehicle systems.

The Ground Forces Command had planned to procure a mini-UAV system for each combat battalion. But officials said GFC doesn't have the budget to procure a significant amount of UAVs over the next year.

"This is a vital asset for ground forces in both conventional and low-intensity warfare," a Defense Ministry official said. "But there's such uncertainty over budget stability that decisions can not be taken."

The army has also delayed decisions regarding the future of the Merkava main battle tank program. Officials said the decisions include whether to continue production of the current Mk-4 in 2007 or develop the Mk-5 model, designed to contain full network centric capability.

"We don't know if there will even be a Mark-5," a ministry official said.

Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz said the latest budget cut would threaten the Merkava tank program as well as reservist and standing army troop levels. Halutz said he has been insulted by the government's failure to honor the military budget.

In contrast, the air force would be largely spared from the budget cuts, officials said. The air force spends 60 percent of the military budget and benefits the most from U.S. military aid, which finances the procurement of everything from fighter-jets and helicopters to fuel.

For his part, Ivry said the suspension or elimination of programs in the middle of a fiscal year would not be cost effective. He cited contractual obligations and worker severance pay.

"The cost of severance pay is higher than the savings," Ivry said.

Original article posted here.