Why is a non-military plane carrying weapons from Delaware to Israel?

A few days after Hamas’ attack on Israel, a commercial air cargo group dispatched an airliner from Israel to Delaware. At Dover Air Force Base, it was packed with “advanced weaponry” and sent back to Israel hours later.

In the eight weeks since, the non-military plane has made seven additional deliveries of weapons from the U.S. to Israel, according to flight logs reviewed by Delaware Online/The News Journal, part of the Paste BN Network.

The frequency of these trips, coupled with President Joe Biden’s request for additional aid to Israel, mean it’s likely this plane will be back.

While it may be unexpected that a non-military plane is delivering the weapons, the majority of munitions and other “dangerous goods” transported by air are flown by commercial airliners, experts say. In large part, this is because the Air Force has a finite number of transport aircraft. Read more about Dover, home to the military’s Super Port, and why it makes an ideal launch point for the flights.

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