Soccer Dad

Israel to buy american planes

The Wall Street Journal reports that Israel is planning to buy up to 75 American fighter planes:

The Defense Department formally notified Congress that it wants to sell Israel as many as 75 of the latest-model fighter jet, which is being developed under a contract led by Lockheed Martin Corp.

A sale could be worth as much as $15 billion. It would mark the first order from outside the original team of countries working on the jet, the F-35 Lightning II, also known as the Joint Strike Fighter.

Israel also is looking to outfit a number of the jets with its own technology.

The technology issue was discussed last week between the IAF and a team of US military officers from the JSF Program who were in Israel. It also was at the focus of talks Defense Ministry Director-General Pinhas Buchris held in Washington earlier this month.

Israeli demands include installing an advanced radar and conformal fuel tank design for long-range missions made by Israel Aerospace Industries, as well as other electronic and weapons systems that could require changes to the configuration of the aircraft.

"We have unique needs and need to retain our superiority in the region," a senior defense official explained. "To meet these needs we must to be able to install our own systems."

Some of the jets may have an ability to take off and land vertically - like a helicopter.

If Israel exercises the vertical option, it would be the first time that the IAF obtains this capability, needed out of fear that Israeli airfields would be paralyzed by enemy missiles in a future conflict and planes would have difficulty taking off in a conventional fashion.

The reason for that option is sobering.

UPDATE: Much, much more at the Hashmonean. Given his knowledge of military hardware, I shouldn't have been surprised.

Crossposted on Yourish.