Israel is 'mightier' as first F-35 fighter jets arrive

[Samee Ulhaq]

NEVATIM AIR BASE, Israel (Reuters) - - Israel on Monday became the first country after the United States to receive the U.S.-built F-35 stealth jet which will increase its ability to attack distant targets, including Iran.

The much-hyped arrival of the first two fighter jets was overshadowed by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's tweet that Lockheed Martin's whole F-35 project was too expensive, and the delivery was delayed for hours by bad weather preventing their take-off from Italy.

The squadron is expected to be the first operational outside the United States. The planes are the first of 50, costing around $100 million each.

"Our long arm has now become longer and mightier," said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Nevatim air base in the southern Negev desert.

U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter, also attending the ceremony which was delayed until after dark, said the planes were critical to maintaining Israel's military edge in the region.

A U.S. squadron of the planes, which have suffered delays and cost overruns, became operational in August. The F-35 program is the Pentagon's largest weapons project.

"The F-35 program and cost is out of control," Trump said on Twitter, sending Lockheed Martin's shares down 4 percent.

Jeff Babione, Lockheed Martin's F-35 programme leader, said the company understood concerns about affordability and had invested millions of dollars to try to reduce its price.

Israel, which finalised a 10-year, $38 billion arms deal from the United States this year, plans to maintain two F-35 squadrons.

Critics of the plane say it can carry a smaller weapons payload and has a shorter range than Israel's current squadrons of U.S.-built F-15s and F-16s.

But some experts say the F-35's stealth capabilities make up for this because it can be more accurate and fly a more direct route to its target. Israel's air force mostly flies missions close to home, in the Gaza Strip and against arms shipments to Hezbollah in Lebanon and Syria.

It is also believed to have carried out bombings in Sudan against arms shipments to Palestinian militants, and to have drawn up contingency plans against Iranian nuclear facilities.

Israel initially ordered 33 of the fighters but signed off on another 17 last month.

Nimrod Shefer, a retired Israeli air force major-general, said the new aircraft were a welcome addition.

"(There are) very low- to very high-altitude missiles ... and targets that are becoming more and more difficult to detect and to destroy," he said.

(Writing by Ori Lewis and Maayan Lubell; Editing by Jeffrey Heller and Robin Pomeroy)

 

[Gothic]

mightier than arab gulf states ?

 

[Samee Ulhaq]

mightier than arab gulf states ?

Obviously..

 

[Gothic]

Obviously..

no , saudi arabia has the silent eagle , israel has messed up their planes by downgrading them with israeli electronics , iran has missiles too

 

[maximuswarrior]

Who are they going to use these fighters against? Innocent Palestinians? I don't see Israel ever fighting an adversary on equal footing.

 

[AKD]

no , saudi arabia has the silent eagle , israel has messed up their planes by downgrading them with israeli electronics , iran has missiles too

No silent eagle can take an f35
And regarding missiles Israel has best anti-missile tech..
Downgrading???
Israeli avionics are best in world

 

[Gothic]

Who are they going to use these fighters against? Innocent Palestinians? I don't see Israel ever fighting an adversary on equal footing.

of course , the f-35 , if you look closely has more capacity to carry bombs to the gaza square

Downgrading???
Israeli avionics are best in world

nope , israel was forced to downgrade their planes with indigenous avionics BECAUSE IT WAS SANCTIONED BY AMERICA FOR SELLING AMERICAN TECH IN THE PAST.

 

[maximuswarrior]

No silent eagle can take an f35
And regarding missiles Israel has best anti-missile tech..
Downgrading???
Israeli avionics are best in world

LOL What makes you think that the F-35 is invincible against the eagle?

The last time I checked Hezbollah/Hamas missiles came through like the shield wasn't even there. We know how good anti-missile tech is. It just is like a baby crawling on its knees.

Did you personally inspect the Israeli avionics to make such a bold claim? Hearsay?

 

[Gothic]

No silent eagle can take an f35
And regarding missiles Israel has best anti-missile tech..

maybe not
but what anti-missile tech are you talking about ? the iron dome and other israeli ABM systems are only short range solutions against artillery shells and hamas fertilizer rockets

moreover the F-35 is a complete foreign product , it has zero propaganda value for israel. Not only it doesn't resemble anything that israel has yet mustard , but there would be no 'israeli avionics' to fit it .

 

[DavidSling]

maybe not
but what anti-missile tech are you talking about ? the iron dome and other israeli ABM systems are only short range solutions against artillery shells and hamas fertilizer rockets

moreover the F-35 is a complete foreign product , it has zero propaganda value for israel. Not only it doesn't resemble anything that israel has yet mustard , but there would be no 'israeli avionics' to fit it .

So much no sense lol, U.S doesn't give downgraded fighters to Israel, and Israel has very good defense industry.
F-35 Helmet is build by Elbit systems, and few more componies take part of the development of the fighter.
Moreover, few unique features to Israel will be installed on F35-I like EW, Israeli software, Cyber abilities, avionics and more.
I have no doubt that ur hatred will blind u to everything I write as I can see from your comment knowledge is being blinded by that hate, but Iron Dome has success rate of 90% as of last war, first missile system to intercept such effectively short range missiles, and David Sling and Arrow 2-3 are enough to any missile u may think about in the region

 

[DavidSling]

Lol You are surprise?
You really believe islamists will say anything good or credible about Israel?
Even when they know deep down that many of the things they are saying is false.lol. To be honest, it's like a Taboo for any of them to say anything factual statement(especially when its something good) about Israel, anyone of them who does so is considered a brainwashed Zionists/traitor/kafir etc.lol.
It's like expecting an Iranian to be making positive statements about Saudi Arabia and vice versa(only that for Israel's case it's even worse).

The problem is , when one is consumed by his own lies

 

[Beast]

No silent eagle can take an f35
And regarding missiles Israel has best anti-missile tech..
Downgrading???
Israeli avionics are best in world

Lol..

Good avionics, no doubt. Best in the world? Far from it.

 

[500]

no , saudi arabia has the silent eagle , israel has messed up their planes by downgrading them with israeli electronics , iran has missiles too

Saudi Arabia does not have Silent Eagle and its not match to F-35 anyway.

 

[mike2000 is back]

NEVATIM AIR BASE, Israel (Reuters) - - Israel on Monday became the first country after the United States to receive the U.S.-built F-35 stealth jet which will increase its ability to attack distant targets, including Iran.

The much-hyped arrival of the first two fighter jets was overshadowed by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's tweet that Lockheed Martin's whole F-35 project was too expensive, and the delivery was delayed for hours by bad weather preventing their take-off from Italy.

The squadron is expected to be the first operational outside the United States. The planes are the first of 50, costing around $100 million each.

"Our long arm has now become longer and mightier," said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Nevatim air base in the southern Negev desert.

U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter, also attending the ceremony which was delayed until after dark, said the planes were critical to maintaining Israel's military edge in the region.

A U.S. squadron of the planes, which have suffered delays and cost overruns, became operational in August. The F-35 program is the Pentagon's largest weapons project.

"The F-35 program and cost is out of control," Trump said on Twitter, sending Lockheed Martin's shares down 4 percent.

Jeff Babione, Lockheed Martin's F-35 programme leader, said the company understood concerns about affordability and had invested millions of dollars to try to reduce its price.

Israel, which finalised a 10-year, $38 billion arms deal from the United States this year, plans to maintain two F-35 squadrons.

Critics of the plane say it can carry a smaller weapons payload and has a shorter range than Israel's current squadrons of U.S.-built F-15s and F-16s.

But some experts say the F-35's stealth capabilities make up for this because it can be more accurate and fly a more direct route to its target. Israel's air force mostly flies missions close to home, in the Gaza Strip and against arms shipments to Hezbollah in Lebanon and Syria.

It is also believed to have carried out bombings in Sudan against arms shipments to Palestinian militants, and to have drawn up contingency plans against Iranian nuclear facilities.

Israel initially ordered 33 of the fighters but signed off on another 17 last month.

Nimrod Shefer, a retired Israeli air force major-general, said the new aircraft were a welcome addition.

"(There are) very low- to very high-altitude missiles ... and targets that are becoming more and more difficult to detect and to destroy," he said.

(Writing by Ori Lewis and Maayan Lubell; Editing by Jeffrey Heller and Robin Pomeroy)

Israel is actually one of the only countries in the world who is allowed to customise and set up it's own electronic and software systems in the F-35 and even it's own independent maintenance facilities.

Summary article:
WHY ONLY ISRAEL CAN CUSTOMIZE AMERICA’S F-35
35 (AT LEAST FOR NOW)

An F-35C Lightning II at Hill Force Base, Utah on April 15, 2016. R. NIAL BRADSHAW/U.S. AIR FORCE

Israel will be the first ally to receive the aircraft when its deliveries begin in December, and it will for the foreseeable future be the only country allowed to install customized software and weapons. The software is an app-like “command and control” system used elsewhere in the Israeli Air Force’s fleet; the weapons would initially be an Israeli-built missile system. The US will most likely also let the Israeli Air Force service the jets independently.

The negotiations are still ongoing within Lockheed Martin and the Pentagon’s F-35 Joint Program Office, which grants such approvals. Final decisions are expected this year. One reason Israel gets a pass is because of its technological track record, particularly with US weaponry. Israel’s Air Force has long tweaked F-16s and F-15 to integrate its own systems.

Israel is quite adept at building advanced military technologies, from weapons systems to sensors to communications gear, and sells a lot of it to the US. Israel’s Litening precision targeting system—an external pod that uses infrared imaging and laser range-finding to guide bombs to targets—is used in a variety of US Air Force and Navy aircraft. The sophisticated Joint Helmet-Mounted Display system for F-22 fighter pilots leans heavily on Israeli technology.

But an even bigger part of the explanation has to do with Israel’s state of perpetual conflict, which makes it a different sort of ally for the US. Speaking at a conference last month in Tel Aviv, as Defense News reported, Israeli Air Force chief of staff Brigadier General Tal Kalman suggested Israel’s “unique requirements” justify a degree of autonomy with the F-35. Israel is pursuing its own maintenance center at Nevatim Air Base, where the jets will be based. When you might go to war at any moment, the argument goes, you can’t have your best hardware go out of service for weeks at a time for checkouts that can take just a few days on your own turf.

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www....el-can-customize-americas-f-35-least-now/amp/

The problem is , when one is consumed by his own lies

Actually, it's a good thing for israel. You should be hoping it's remains that way for them. Since such a mentality will keep them behind and make them fall even more behind than they are already. So it's good for you they remain that way.
Moreover, their hostility towards you had been very beneficial to Israel, as they say necessity is the mother of all inventions. They enable Israel to always be on its toes and avoid Israel to be complacent. Many of your weapons systems would never have been developed if not for their hostility towards you. So, in some way it's actually good for Israel.

 

[Gothic]

So much no sense lol, U.S doesn't give downgraded fighters to Israel, and Israel has very good defense industry.
F-35 Helmet is build by Elbit systems, and few more componies take part of the development of the fighter.
Moreover, few unique features to Israel will be installed on F35-I like EW, Israeli software, Cyber abilities, avionics and more.
I have no doubt that ur hatred will blind u to everything I write as I can see from your comment knowledge is being blinded by that hate, but Iron Dome has success rate of 90% as of last war, first missile system to intercept such effectively short range missiles, and David Sling and Arrow 2-3 are enough to any missile u may think about in the region

Helmet is not such complicated technology , iran too builds their own helmets for the american cobras and supercobras , it's like a steam VR machine only for military use .

ABM systems are pure speculation , they have never been tested against a real adversary missile . Iran infact gets to test their missiles against western ABM's like in north korea where the THAAD has never had a chance to shoot down any NK missile yet. your arrow 2-3 and david sling have only proved themselves against the iraqi scuds americans fire for you.

I still doubt if the f-35's of the US airforce will use israeli made software .

Saudi Arabia does not have Silent Eagle and its not match to F-35 anyway.

the silent eagle is basically the same plane boeing has made for saudi arabia , only it's in american service