Jerusalem – Israel will stagger the purchase of its second batch of 31 U.S.-made F-35 fighter jets over the next three years, an Israeli defense official said on Sunday after budget wrangling among Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s top cabinet colleagues.
Join our WhatsApp groupSubscribe to our Daily Roundup Email
Under a compromise plan approved by the ministerial committee, Israel will buy 14 of the aircraft now and another 17 in 2017, the official said without providing price details. The second stage of the purchase will be subject to another vote of approval nearer the time, the official added.
Israel bought 19 of the Lockheed Martin Corp
Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon reached a preliminary agreement on the 31 F-35s during a visit to Washington last month, but met opposition from some Israeli ministers who voiced misgivings about the jet’s high cost and untested capabilities.
The resulting hold-up, Yaalon told Israel’s Army Radio earlier on Sunday, frayed ties with the United States, which have already been strained by disputes over how to tackle Iran’s nuclear program and stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
A reduced Israeli purchase could have dented international confidence in the plane, which is being developed and built by Lockheed for the U.S. military and allies — a $399 billion endeavor that is the world’s most expensive weapons program.
It’s a lousy, expensive plane. Single engine, unstable, not so powerful. It’s going to put the US at a tactical disadvantage for many decades. No reason Israel should jump in the same sinking lifeboat.
How many aerodynamic experts on this website , you need to go to Dayton Ohio and sell your expertise to the air-force but unfortunately it does no discover tunnels or rocket installations hidden in Lebanon