Bahrain and Israel agreed to station a senior officer from the Israeli navy permanently in Manama, two days after it was revealed that Bahrain had purchased Israeli anti-aircraft systems.
The Israeli Channel 13 said that the senior officer - who is expected to arrive in Bahrain within the next few weeks - will be tasked with communicating with the US Fifth Fleet in the kingdom.
This appointment is "historic and unprecedented" for a senior official in the Israeli army in an official position within an Arab country, according to the Israeli channel.
This step was agreed upon during Defense Minister Benny Gantz's visit to Bahrain last week. The minister agreed on this during a tripartite meeting with his Bahraini counterpart Abdullah bin Hassan al-Nuaimi, and the commander of the US Fifth Fleet, Admiral Brad Cooper.
Officials expect this exceptional cooperation to take place between Israel and the Gulf states in the near future.
On Wednesday, the Israel Defense website revealed that Bahrain had purchased anti-aircraft radar systems from an Israeli company.
The website reported that bats.be, a subsidiary of Israel Aerospace Industries in Belgium, had revealed a deal to sell radars and anti-aircraft systems with Bahrain.
The Israeli website confirmed that the deal provides for the purchase of coastal radars under the brand name "BATS' GR12", with the aim of defending the coasts of a military base in the country only about 200 km from the Iranian coast, adding that these radars include multiple installations of radars and optics. Electric built-in command and control center.
The site indicated that the deal was signed in the second half of 2021, and delivery is expected during the current year.
For its part, BATS expressed its pride in supporting and improving the Bahrain Defense Forces, explaining that this is the company's first contract in the Kingdom of Bahrain, looking forward to a stronger and longer cooperation with the Kingdom.
It is noteworthy that Bahrain and the UAE signed a historic peace agreement with Israel on September 15, 2020, at the White House, under the auspices of former US President Donald Trump.