Pentagon Approves Sale of 50 F-15IA Jets to Israel in $18 Billion Defense Agreement

The United States has given the green light for the potential sale of 50 new F-15IA fighter-bombers to Israel, a significant military transaction valued at over $18 billion. This authorization, granted by the U.S. Department of Defense, is part of a larger effort to bolster Israel's defense capabilities amid increasing tensions in the Middle East, particularly with Iran.
In addition to the new aircraft, the package includes modernization kits for Israel's existing fleet of F-15I aircraft, allowing them to be upgraded to the same advanced configuration as the F-15IA. This comprehensive deal also encompasses a wide array of military equipment, such as AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles, 120mm tank and mortar cartridges, medium tactical vehicles, and other essential systems. The U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) highlighted the importance of this deal in a notification to Congress, emphasizing that it is crucial for U.S. national interests to support Israel in developing and maintaining a robust self-defense capability.
The Israeli government has been actively seeking to acquire advanced military equipment from the U.S. for several years, including the F-15EX aircraft, which the F-15IA is based on, as well as KC-46A Pegasus aerial refueling tankers. While the discussions and negotiations for these acquisitions have been ongoing, recent escalations in tensions with Iran appear to have accelerated the decision-making process in Washington.
According to the DSCA's announcement, Israel requested the sale of up to 50 F-15IA fighter-bombers, alongside 25 Mid-Life Update (MLU) kits for its current F-15I Ra’am aircraft. The package also includes 120 F110-GE-129 turbofan engines, 90 Advanced Display Core Processors II, 75 APG-82(V)1 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radars, and 50 AN/AAQ-13 LANTIRN navigation pods. Notably, the equipment list does not include the Eagle Passive Active Warning Survivability Systems (EPAWSS), an advanced electronic warfare system integral to the F-15EX variant.
The F-15IA deal also covers missile rails, 20mm Vulcan cannons, GPS/INS devices, Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing Systems, and Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) systems. These systems, along with the usual support and logistics provisions, are expected to significantly enhance the operational capabilities of the Israeli Air Force. Deliveries of the aircraft and associated equipment are projected to begin in 2029.
This sale is particularly timely as it coincides with rising regional instability. The DSCA's notice underscores the importance of the F-15IA in enhancing Israel's aerial combat capabilities, especially in light of recent missile and drone attacks attributed to Iran. In fact, in April, U.S. Air Force fighters, including F-15Es, played a key role in intercepting and neutralizing more than 80 drones launched by Iran against Israel, highlighting the critical role that such advanced aircraft can play in regional defense.
The F-15EX, from which the F-15IA is derived, represents one of the most advanced variants of the Eagle fighter jet family. Developed to address new threats from major powers like China and Russia, the F-15EX features cutting-edge systems, including a fully glass cockpit, the Advanced Display Core Processor II, and the AN/APG-82(V)1 AESA radar, which offers superior target detection and tracking capabilities.
Israel's interest in the F-15EX dates back to 2020 when the Israeli Air Force identified an urgent need for more aircraft capable of carrying heavy payloads, including weapons designed to destroy fortified targets like Iranian nuclear facilities. Although initial requests were for 25 aircraft, the option to expand the order to 50 was always on the table, and the inclusion of MLU kits for the existing F-15I fleet was anticipated as part of the overall modernization effort.
In summary, this significant military sale not only strengthens Israel's defense posture but also reflects the deep strategic partnership between the U.S. and Israel. As tensions in the Middle East continue to escalate, the addition of these advanced fighter-bombers to Israel's arsenal will play a crucial role in maintaining stability and ensuring that Israel remains prepared to face any potential threats.

Dutch Court Denies Request to Block Transfer of F-35 Fighter Jet Parts to Israel from The Netherlands

A Dutch court on Friday rejected a request by a group of human rights and humanitarian organizations to order a halt to the transfer to Israel of parts for F-35 fighter jets.

The organizations went to court Dec. 4 arguing that delivery of parts for the aircraft makes the Netherlands complicit in possible war crimes being committed by Israel in its war with Hamas. The parts are stored in a warehouse in the Dutch town of Woensdrecht.

In a written statement, the Hague District Court said the judge who heard the civil case concluded that the government of the Netherlands “weighed the relevant interests” before agreeing to the delivery of parts.

Lawyer Liesbeth Zegveld told the court that the Dutch government decided to continue transferring F-35 parts to Israel even after the deadly Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas triggered the Israel-Hamas war. 

Israel grounds 11 F-35 JSF jets after U.S. crash

The Israeli Air Force (IAF) reported on Sunday that following the crash of a U.S. F-35 Type B fighter jet in Texas earlier this month, and the recommendation of the F-35 Lightning II Joint Program Office (JPO), 11 Israeli F-35 fighter jets will be grounded.

"The IAF will analyze the findings from the incident and will draw conclusions and recommendations for the safe return of the aircraft to operational duty," the IDF Spokesperson's Unit added.

Lockheed Martin said at the time that they were aware of the incident and that the pilot succeeded in ejecting safely.

Earlier this year, the U.S. military grounded its entire fleet of F-35s after a malfunction detected in their ejection seat system.

ynetnews 

ISRAEL AIR FORCE OPENS SECOND F-35 SQUADRON

The Israel Air Force opened a second squadron of F-35 stealth fighter jets, The Jerusalem Post has learned. The squadron will be called “Defenders of the South.” According to industry sources, Israel will have 20 F-35I fighter jets by 2020.
The IAF currently has 14 F-35 Adir aircraft and is expected to receive a total of 50 planes to make two full squadrons by 2024.
The IAF is also now considering whether to purchase an additional 25 F-35s to give Israel a total of 75 stealth fighter jets.
jpost

Israel to buy more F-15s and F-35s

In the coming months, IDF Chief of Staffwill face one of the most important decisions the Israeli defense establishment has ever made: how to spend $11 billion on buying dozens of new top-of-the-line aircraft that the Israel Air Force will use for many decades into the future from the US arms industry.
The arms procurement plan, one of Israel's largest ever, will tie up almost one quarter of US defense aid money in the coming decade. It includes a new squadron of attack planes, 5-7 cutting-edge aircraft for airborne refueling, and transportation helicopters to replace the Yasur (Sea Stallion) helicopters used by the air force for four decades. All of these will be accompanied by additional investment in new systems to be installed on the aircraft, development of special equipment, operating and maintenance infrastructure, etc.
The most important Israeli decision involves a choice between two attack planes: the F-35 Adir (stealth fighter) manufactured by Lockheed Martin and the new F-15 manufactured by Boeing. Lockheed Martin is offering Israel a third squadron of F-35s, plus new transportation helicopters and airborne refueling planes made by European company Airbus under a strategic cooperation agreement between the two companies. Boeing is offering Israel a no less attractive package: a squadron of 25 new F-15s, plus airborne refueling planes developed for the US Air Force and advanced transportation helicopters.
Israel has made three purchases of the F-35 in the past decade, 50 planes altogether, at $100-110 million per plane. Israel will have two squadrons of these planes by 2024. Lockheed Martin has supplied the air force with 14 of the places so far, and the planned rate of supply in the future is six planes per year.
The IDF and the Ministry of Defense estimate that the final decision will be made this summer. At the same time, defense sources say that they already detect signs that the general tendency is in favor of Boeing's offer, with the key work being mix: Israel needs both Lockheed Martin's stealth fighters and Boeing's bombers. If there were no budget constraints, the air force would probably choose both options.
en.globes.co.il

ISRAEL AIR FORCE PATCHES F-35 F-15I B-707 F-16I

WATCH!!!

Boeing will not permit Israel Aerospace Industries to convert its B-767 planes to airborne refueling configuration.

While Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) aspires to be the vendor in one of Israel's biggest defense procurement programs in the next few years, for fuel tanker aircraft for the Israel Air Force, US aerospace giant Boeing is liable to put a serious obstacle in its way: sources inform "Globes" that Boeing will not grant IAI permits to convert its planes to tanker configuration. Such a restriction means that IAI is liable to find itself out of the running for supplying the Israel Air Force's new tankers, as its proposal is based on buying used Boeing 767 aircraft on the open market and converting them for airborne refueling of combat planes.
Boeing has a clear interest in ousting IAI from the procurement program that has been taking shape at the Ministry of Defense and in the Air Force for a long time, since it is considered the leading candidate for winning the order, estimated to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
en.globes.co.il

Israel Sells Croatia 12 F-16 Fighter Jets for $500 Million

Croatia's government has approved the purchase of 12 used Israeli F-16 fighter aircraft in a package worth $500 million.
The deal was agreed at a meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the prime minister of Croatia, Andrej Plenkovic, at the World Economic forum in Davos in January.
The deal, which includes the training of pilots in Israel, aircraft armament, a training simulator and the construction and equipping of facilities at Croatia's military airports, is lead by Israel Ministry of Defense in cooperation with the Israeli Air Force along with Elbit and Israel Aerospace Industries.
haaretz

Israel strikes​ Iranian targets in Syria after F-16 fighter jet shot down

An Israeli jet was shot down during an attack on Iranian targets in Syria yesterday, in the most serious confrontation between the foes since the start of the civil war.
Israel said it sent an F-16 jet to disable an Iranian drone which entered into Israeli territory from Syria earlier on Saturday morning.
The military said it then faced massive anti-aircraft fire from the Syrian regime that forced two pilots to abandon the aircraft, which crashed in northern Israel.
One pilot was seriously wounded and the other lightly. Syrian officials reported large explosions in the centre of the country and the Syrian counter fire set off warning sirens throughout northern Israel.
The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) said it struck at least a dozen targets after the jet was downed, including three aerial defence batteries and four Iranian targets near the capital Damascus.
Saturday's incident marked the first time an Israeli aircraft has been shot down by Syria since the Lebanese civil war in 1982.
telegraph

Israel declares F-35s ready for operations

The Israeli Air Force on Wednesday declared its initial squadron of nine F-35 stealth fighters ready for operational use, less than a year after the first two fifth-generation fighters were delivered to the country by the U.S. Air Force.
In a Dec. 6 announcement, the Israel Defense Forces noted that Israel is the only country besides the U.S. to declare operational capability for the F-35 — a weapon system that “enhances strategic and operational capabilities” and improves readiness “in a wide range of scenarios and threats in all arenas.”
While an early December initial operational capability had been long-planned by the Israeli Air Force and F-35 prime contractor Lockheed Martin, the announcement comes after multiple strikes in Syria attributed to the Israeli Air Force earlier in the week. In at least two attacks over a 72-hour period earlier in the week, the Syrian regime announced that it had launched surface-to-air missiles against Israeli aircraft.
Israel has not confirmed or denied its role in the recent Syrian attacks. Yet, it has publicly insisted it would act to prevent Iran from establishing a permanent presence in the war-torn country north of its border.
defensenews

Israel steps back from V-22 purchase

The Israeli air force has frozen its evaluation of the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey, with a senior defence source indicating that the tiltrotor is unable to perform some missions currently conducted using its Sikorsky CH-53 transport helicopters.
In January 2014, the US Department of Defense notified Congress about its intention to sell six V-22s to Israel. This followed an evaluation conducted by air force personnel, which led to the service seeking a rapid acquisition to support special operations. The proposed purchase met with opposition from elsewhere within Israel's defence ministry, however.
Other potential candidates to replace the Israeli air force's aged CH-53s by around 2025 include Sikorsky's new CH-53K and the Boeing CH-47 Chinook.
Some of the service's current CH-53s have amassed more than 10,000 flying hours, and it expects to continue operating updated examples until 2028.
flightglobal

Israel Receives Two additional “Adir” F-35I stealth fighters

Israel's latest pair of Lockheed Martin F-35s landed at Nevatim air base on 14 September. The arrivals brought the total number of "Adir" jets operated by the nation's air force to seven.
"The arrival of two additional aircraft will allow us to become operational according to plan," says Brig Gen Eyal Grinboim, base commander at Nevatim.
By the end of this year, a further two F-35Is will join the air force's "Golden Eagle" squadron. The service plans to conduct an inspection in December, ahead of declaring initial operational capability (IOC) with the stealthy type.
flightglobal

Israel continues talks over additional F-15s

Negotiations about a possible follow-on purchase of advanced Boeing F-15s for the Israeli air force are continuing, as the nation’s cabinet seeks a possible alternative to acquiring additional Lockheed Martin F-35s.
In November 2016, the Israeli government approved the purchase of another 17 F-35Is, bringing to 50 the number of “Adir” strike aircraft planned for its air force.
The service has been evaluating a purchase of more F-15Is to maintain its desired mix of strike aircraft with the F-35 to satisfy future operational needs. Its initial requirement was identified as for 75 F-35s, but the need to replace the oldest examples of its Boeing-built fighter has become a high priority issue. Israel has operated the twin-engined type since 1976.
It has been decided that an evaluation of an advanced version of the F-15 should be completed before any additional F-35s are purchased. Israeli sources say ongoing talks with the US Department of Defense are related to a potentially 20- to 25-aircraft deal.
Details have not been disclosed about the aircraft standard being sought, but sources indicate that this would be capable of carrying more missiles, in common with Boeing’s suggested 2040 upgrade configuration for the F-15.
Meanwhile, the Israeli air force in early March opened a dedicated maintenance training centre for the F-35I at Nevatim air base.
The first such facility to be established outside the USA, this will support personnel training related to 25 different technical professions, the air force says.
Israel requires line- and depot-level maintenance for the new type to be performed in-country, with only subsystems to be sent for support and repair overseas. Its air force took delivery of its first pair of Adirs last December.
flightglobal

Israel retires F-16A fleet

The F-16A has been in service with the IAF since 1980, and has participated in all combat operations since then, including an attack on an Iraqi nuclear reactor in 1981.
In recent years older aircraft were operated mainly by the IAF's “red squadron” in an adversary training role, and the Israeli ministry of defence is now trying to sell 40 F-16As.
In 2014, the IAF completed an extensive upgrade of its F-16C/D variants, under the Barak 2020 programme. This included structural treatment and the installation of a new digital debriefing system, plus a new head-up display.
Other systems have also been installed, but no details on their capabilities have been revealed.
The upgrade has been performed in the squadrons with supervision of the IAF’s main technical unit number 22, the force’s central maintenance depot.
flightglobal

Israel gives green light to F-15I upgrade

Israel will embark on a “deep” upgrade of its Boeing F-15I Ra’am fleet as it looks to maintain the type as the backbone of its air force’s strike capability, despite the parallel acquisition of the Lockheed Martin F-35.
The enhancement has been mooted for some time, but Tel Aviv has recently given the green light to the programme.
Modifications will include structural changes, the addition of an active electronically-scanned array (AESA) radar, updated avionics and new, unspecified weapon systems.
A selection process for the radar is ongoing, with a decision due mid-year. It is thought Israel favours the Raytheon APG-82(V)1 radar selected by the US Air Force for its F-15Es.
flightglobal

The First Israeli F-35I Has Been Revealed

This weekend, the advanced phase in the production of the F-35I ("Adir") began by the reveal of the first Israeli JSF fuselage in a formal ceremony. Simultaneously, the "Adir" squadron establishment team took off for the simulator in the U.S, an important milestone in the acquisition process.
The leaders of the MoD Mission to the United States and "Lockheed Martin" noted this weekend, in a formal ceremony in Texas, U.S, the beginning of the advanced phase of the production of Israel's first F-35I, in preparation for the completion of its manufacturing and its launch this June. In the ceremony which was held in the "Lockheed Martin" factory in Fort Worth Texas, the Israeli jet's fuselage was revealed for the first time. In the height of the ceremony, the Director of the Israeli MoD Mission to the U.S Aharon Marmarosh, signed the fuselage of the first jet in the name of Israel and wrote in Hebrew: "Onward and Upward. Good Luck with your mission".
iaf

Israeli air force details F-35 transition plan

The Israeli air force plans to close one of its Lockheed Martin F-16C/D squadrons in 2017, in parallel with the service's new-generation F-35 "Adir" achieving initial operational capability.
Halting operations with the F-16C/D unit will be part of a major adjustment programme aimed at tailoring the air force's inventory to future challenges, while taking into account the limitations of the nation's defence budget.
Earlier this year, a contract was signed for the purchase of another 14 F-35 (Adir) fighters for the Israeli air force. The service and defence ministry had wanted to 31, but strong opposition in the Israeli cabinet limited the number in a $2.82 billion deal. The order includes options for the 17 additional aircraft.
According to the Israeli defence ministry – which signed a first, 19-aircraft order in 2010 – the first two F-35s will land in the nation at the end of 2016.
Israel is operating 77 F-16C fighters and 48 D-model trainers.
flightglobal

Israel trained against S-300 air defense system in Greece

Israel has quietly tested ways of defeating an advanced air-defence system that Russia has deployed in the Middle East and that could limit Israel's ability to strike in Syria or Iran, military and diplomatic sources said.
The sources said a Russian S-300 anti-aircraft system, sold to Cyprus 18 years ago but now located on the Greek island of Crete, had been activated during joint drills between the Greek and Israeli air forces in April-May this year.
The activation allowed Israel's warplanes to test how the S-300's lock-on system works, gathering data on its powerful tracking radar and how it might be blinded or bluffed.
One defense source in the region said Greece had done so at the request of the United States, Israel’s chief ally, on at least one occasion in the past year. It was unclear whether Israel had shared its findings with its allies.
reuters

Israel approves funds for 'Air Force One' conversion

Israel's cabinet has approved a budget to purchase and adapt an "Air Force One"-style aircraft that will serve the nation's prime minister.
Worth approximately $100 million, the allocation is the first real step in the implementation of a long-delayed programme.
Israel has in recent years looked for such an aircraft to substitute the use of those leased from Israeli airlines to fly the prime minister around the world, but budget constraints and public criticism have blocked the process so far.
flightglobal

Israel requests extra squadron of F-15s

Israeli sources confirm that details of the request were agreed during a recent meeting between the defence ministers of the USA and Israel in Washington DC. This included the Israeli air force expressing its operational need for another squadron of F-15s, to ensure that the type can remain the "backbone" of its capabilities.
While details of the F-15 request have not been released, the sources say that it involves the latest Silent Eagle-standard aircraft, which would also be equipped with Israeli-developed systems. Enhancements introduced with the advanced strike asset include the ability to carry an increased number of air-launched weapons and the addition of conformal fuel tanks for extended-range performance.
The Israeli air force as operating 25 F-15Is – the youngest of which are 16 years old – and a combined 58 older F-15A/Cs.
Other systems being requested by Israel in order to maintain its operational edge include V-22 tiltrotors, KC-46A tankers, additional F-35s and bunker-busting bombs that have until now not been exported by the USA.
flightglobal