The Jerusalem Post:
WASHINGTON (TNS) – Senators quietly deleted from a defense bill last month a strict provision tying continued US funding of a costly Israeli antimissile system to completion of two flight tests.
The retreat from tough oversight came at the request of the Israeli government, sources said.
At issue is the Arrow 3 program, the longest-range version of a set of Arrow antimissile systems on which the US has already spent more than $3 billion. Israel co-funds and co-develops the program. The Pentagon’s Missile Defense Agency did not answer by publication time a question on how much Israel has spent on the systems. The Israeli Embassy did not provide an answer either.
