Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Sunday that Israel will purchase an additional 17 F-35 fighter jets from the United States. The Diplomatic-Security Cabinet approved the acquisition unanimously, saying U.S. defense aid funds would be used to finance the deal. Once the deal is completed, Israel's F-35 squadron will number 50 stealth jets. The cabinet first decided to purchase the Lockheed Martin-made F-35 in 2010. The initial procurement deal was for 19 stealth fighter jets, and the first two aircraft are scheduled to land in the Nevatim Airbase in southern Israel in about two weeks. The jets will be flown to Israel by U.S. Air Force pilots. Israeli pilots will fly the jets only after they arrive in Israel, as all prior training was done on simulators. In 2011, Washington agreed in principle to supply the Israeli Air Force with up to 75 F-35 fighter jets. The cabinet also decided Sunday that one of the jets acquired as part of the second deal will be used as a test aircraft, on which the IAF can install and test new operating and weapon systems. The ministers are said to already be considering a third purchase, this time for 25 F-35s. This acquisition may also include the F-35B STOVL, an advanced stealth takeoff and vertical landing variant aircraft. A senior IAF officer told Israel Hayom that the "F-35B STOVL has many advantages, but some of its unique capabilities come at the expense of other jet capabilities." The IAF, he said, may opt to pass on the third potential acquisition in favor of procuring additional Boeing-manufactured F-15 fighter jets. "The F-15s are tried and true and this might be our last chance to purchase more of them. The F-35 will only prove itself in the future," the officer said.
The F-35 "will take the IAF somewhere else in terms of its thinking. It will change the way missions are carried out, personnel requirements, the distance we can fly and the chances we can take," he said.
