Global Courant
Israel says it will buy 25 F-35 aircraft from the United States
By means ofJULIA FRANKEL Associate Press
FILE – An Israeli F-35 lands at Ovda Air Base during the biennial multinational air exercise known as the Blue Flag, at Ovda Air Force Base near Eilat, southern Israel, Sunday, October 24, 2021. Israel will purchase 25 F-35s from 35 aircraft from the United States, the Israeli Defense Ministry announced Sunday, July 2, 2023, in a deal that will increase Israel’s arsenal of stealth fighter jets by 50%. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov, File)
The associated press
JERUSALEM — JERUSALEM (AP) —
Israel will buy 25 F-35 aircraft from the United States, the Israeli Defense Ministry announced on Sunday, in a deal that will increase Israel’s arsenal of stealth fighter jets by 50%.
The F-35 is the world’s most advanced fighter jet and Israel is the only country in the Middle East to fly it. The $3 billion purchase, which will expand Israel’s fleet of F-35 jets from 50 to 75, is expected to be completed in the coming months, the ministry said.
It said the deal would be funded by US military aid to Israel and that the aircraft’s maker, Lockheed Martin, and the engine’s maker, Pratt & Whitney, had committed to involving Israeli companies in the manufacturing process.
“The new agreement will ensure continued cooperation between US companies and the Israeli defense industry in the production of aircraft components,” the statement said.
The move to expand Israel’s arsenal comes at a time of heightened tensions between Israel and Iran. Israel, which sees Iran as its worst enemy, has previously used F-35 jets to shoot down Iranian drones and threatened to launch a long-range strike against Iranian nuclear targets.
Israel accuses Iran of trying to develop a nuclear weapon — a charge Iran denies — and is said to be behind a series of attacks on Iranian nuclear experts and facilities in Iran over the years.
Israel, which has been trying to counter Iran’s entrenchment in neighboring Syria, launched an airstrike on the Syrian city of Homs on Sunday, one of hundreds of attacks on government-controlled parts of Syria in recent years.
