For the first time ever American soldiers have been deployed to Israel on a permanent basis to man a new early-warning radar system.

Defense News reported that 120 US military technicians and advisors will be based permanently in Israel to operate the FBX-T radar system, which should give Israel advanced warning of any Iranian missile attack.

The radar and its operating crew arrived in Israel aboard more than a dozen US European Command (EUCOM) aircraft last Sunday.

The deployment is believed to be part of the Bush Administration's compensation to Israel for not backing an Israeli military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities.

According to reports last week, Israel wanted to attack Iran as early as May of this year, but was denied the needed support from Washington. The Bush White House also reportedly turned down a later request for a flight corridor through Iraqi airspace.

The US did, however, approve the recent sale of 1,000 advanced bunker buster bombs to Israel, which will significantly improve the ability of the Israeli air force to carry out a successful raid on Iranian targets.