Asia Pacific Defence & Security Exhibition

Reuters June 9 2008

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon told the Congress on Monday that it was proposing to supply Israel up to 25 T-6A Texan trainer aircraft and related gear worth up to $190 million.

Principal contractors would include Hawker Beechcraft Corp and United Technologies Corp's' Pratt & Whitney unit, the Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a notice.

The T-6A would slash Israel's training fuel requirements 66 percent, the agency said.

Israel "has requested a possible sale" of the single-engine turboprop T-6A trainers to replace its Zukit fleet built in the early 1960s, according to the agency.

It also would boost "operational capability in coalition operations and exercises, and contribute to a modern air defense network for the legitimate defense of Israel," the Pentagon said.

The notice to Congress of a potential government-to-government arms sale is required by law. It does not mean a deal has been concluded.

The transaction's value would be as high as $190 million if all options were exercised, the notice said.