Israel’s first two F-35 stealth fighter jets on their maiden flight as part of the Israeli Air Force on December 13, 2016. (Israel Defense Forces)
On July 2, the Israeli Ministry of Defense announced that a third squadron of F-35 stealth fighter jets will be ordered from the United States.
In a joint statement with the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), the ministry said that Defense Minister Yoav Gallant had approved the recommendation proposed by IDF chief Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi; the director general of the ministry, Eyal Zamir; and chief of the Israeli Air Force (IAF), Major General Tomer Bar, to procure the third F-35 squadron.
The Israeli MoD added that it will issue an official letter of request to the U.S. military’s F-35 Lightning II Joint Program Office.
“This step will facilitate the approval and signing of the transaction in the coming months,” the statement said.
The additional 25 F-35s would bring Israel’s fleet of the stealth fighter jet to 75 in the upcoming years. The new F-35 deal, which was estimated at $3 billion, will reportedly be financed by U.S. military aid to Israel.
The IAF operates a special version of the F-35A modified with Israeli-made systems. This version is known as the F-35I “Adir”.
Israel was the second country after the U.S. to receive the F-35 from the manufacturer, Lockheed Martin. The country declared the F-35I operationally capable in 2017. In the same year, the IAF said that one of the fighter jets was damaged as a result of a bird strike while on a reconnaissance mission over Lebanon. However, it was later reported that the F-35 was hit by a missile launched from a Syrian Soviet-made S-200 long-range air defense system.
In 2021, IAF F-35 fighter jets shot down two Iranian drones, carrying weapons to the Gaza Strip. This was the first operational shoot down and interception carried out by the F-35.
Earlier this year, a second Israeli F-35 was lightly damaged by a bird strike while taking part in the country’s Independence Day fly-by.
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