The Mightiest of the Mighty

On Wednesday June 22, the official ceremony to mark the acceptance of the first fifth-generation F-35 Lightning II fighter by the Israeli Air Force took place in Texas. The fighter will be given the name F-35I “Adir” (which means “mighty” in Hebrew).

The ceremony was attended by representatives of the aviation industry, Governor of Texas Greg Abbott, Ambassador of the United States of America to the State of Israel Daniel Shapiro and the Indian Air Force Chief of Staff Brigadier General Tal Kelman. The highest ranking guest at the ceremony was Chisinau-born Minister of Defence of the government of Israel Avigdor Lieberman, the first Russian-speaking minister in the country’s history to hold the post.

The first pair of F-351s (the second is scheduled to leave the assembly line in a few weeks) will fly to their new home in December of this year. They will be the first “Lightning” exports to be put into service outside the United States. Fighters from other countries – Australia, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands – are now in the United States, where their pilots are undergoing training and taking part in the testing programme. Even Italian aircraft, the final assembly of which is carried out at a factory in Cameri, are flying to the United States after initial tests are completed at home. Thus far, the only fighters making the return trip to Europe are the Dutch aircraft, so that they can take part in an air show (British fighters are expected to take part at the Farnborough International Airshow this summer).

Lockheed Martin

First fifth-generation F-35 Lightning II fighter by the Israeli Air Force

This once again highlights the special allied relations between the United Stated and Israel, especially considering the fact that Israel is not a partner country in the Joint Strike Fighter programme, but rather buys equipment as part of the United States’ Foreign Military Sales programme, meaning that it should be a lesser priority.

However, calling it a “purchase” is also somewhat of a stretch, as the cost will be offset by the military assistance package that the United States will give to Israel in 2018–2027, amounting to an eye-watering $37.5 billion.[i]

The existing two contracts (signed in 2010 and 2015) include the purchase of 33 fighters by Israel, to be delivered by 2021. The Israeli side is expected to purchase as many as 75 F-351s by the end of the next decade. Interestingly, the Israeli Air Force is interested in the short take-off and vertical landing F-35B as well as the basic F-351model.

As is always the case, Israeli firms plan on making a number of “national” modifications to the aircraft[ii] – install their own avionics equipment and integrate their weapons into the systems, and even develop special additional fuel tanks that are jettisoned together with the pylon.

Lockheed Martin

Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman in Israel's first F-35 during the ceremony at Fort Worth

Flight range is of greater importance to the Israeli Air Force, as it often carried out strike missions abroad. The F-35 is a good choice for this, as opposed to the F-16, which requires massive amounts of fuel.

It is expected that the U.S. Airforce will announce the operational readiness of its first squadron on F-35As in the second half of 2016. A similar procedure took place in the Marine Corps in 2015. The first planned deployment of F-35Bs abroad is planned for Japan in 2016.