Weekly Commentary: What Third World Country Missed Multiple Deadlines in
Apache Deal? Israel
(Video https://youtu.be/ajIPvLHD-c4 )

Dr. Aaron Lerner 14 October 2026

This morning - October 14th - in a telephone vote, our Cabinet approved
allocating NIS 1.03 billion to bridge the funding gap for 12 Apache
helicopters.

Armed with the newly approved funding, the Defense Ministry instructed its
Washington delegation to sign the contract.

We missed an earlier ordering window in the summer and received further
extensions. We then failed to meet the final extended deadline of October
7th, prompting media reports that the deal was dead.

Defense Minister Israel Katz then instructed Defense Ministry
Director-General Major General (Res.) Amir Baram to contact the Pentagon
directly to secure another grace period.

The U.S. agreed on the strict condition that the contract be signed by the
end of the day on October 14th.

So what could have been done in a telephone vote in August was completed,
under the gun, in October.

And this is apparently only the tip of the iceberg of this farce, as reports
indicate that our earlier failure to lock a preferential place in Boeing's
production schedule may have pushed delivery later than the slot originally
targeted around 2030.

This is not "all's well that ends well."

It is hard to imagine that our repeated failures to meet deadlines did not
annoy our American counterparts, both in the government and at Boeing.

The final grace period, measured in hours, certainly suggests that American
patience was running thin.

But this goes beyond annoying the people we work with.

There are no free lunches - and no free favors.

And we just wasted a favor.

I am both embarrassed and disappointed.
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