Posted on 05/22/2018 8:52:18 AM PDT by MtnClimber
Israel has struck targets in the Middle East with the F-35 Adir stealth fighter jet twice, Israel Air Force Commander Maj.-Gen. Amikam Norkin said Tuesday, becoming the first country to use the US-made jet in combat.
“We are flying the F-35 all over the Middle East. It had become part of our operational capabilities. We are the first to attack using the F-35 in the Middle East and have already attacked twice on different fronts,” he said during the IAF Senior Air Force Conference in Herzilya.
Norkin made the comments while showing a picture of one Israeli F-35 flying over the Lebanese capital of Beirut during the day. He did not mention when the picture was taken.
Israel declared initial operational capability of the world’s most advanced jet in December after receiving nine F-35s. The Air Force is expected to receive a total of 50 planes to make two full squadrons by 2024.
With an extremely low radar signature, the F-35 is able to operate undetected deep inside enemy territory such as Iran as well as evade advanced missile defense systems like the advanced Russian-made S-300 missile defense system which Tehran announced in March had become operational.
(Excerpt) Read more at jpost.com ...
Seems the Russian troops in Syria could not hit them with the S-300s.
“We are flying the F-35 all over the Middle East. It had become part of our operational capabilities”
Interesting tidbit of information.
B-b-but the F-35 is Flawed! The F-35 won’t be combat ready for Years!
When I read that Israel wanted the F-35, I knew it was a good plane. They simply can’t afford to waste money.
RE: “They simply can’t afford to waste money.”
Of course they can.
‘Specially since we give Israel 3.8 Billion dollar$ of military aid each year.
See 38 BILLION 10 year deal:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2016/09/14/united-states-military-aid-israel/90358564/
Military Industrial Complex thanks you ;n)
In before somebody comes along and says the F-35 is a POS.
And that the Russians were not even trying to shoot it down to protect the REAL capabilities of the S300/400.
I know. I understand the plane is not perfect and still has a lot of things to iron out and is still way too expensive...but I lived through the acquisition of other weapons systems that were screamed at as being so flawed they would make our troops sitting ducks.
Particularly, I recall the Abrams tank. I was following its development back then, and I read back on some old articles recently about that, and it was striking.
It is too complicated. It is too fragile. It eats too much gas. It can’t fire straight. It can’t be maintained in a sandy environment.
Pretty much the best battle tank in the world...still.
People just need to take a breath sometimes.
Oh, and that ANY modern fighter can shoot it down.
That is probably the best "bang for the buck" we get as far as foreign aid/military aid goes.
Israel must use the best technologies available - there is no margin for error. And a great way to field-test our hardware in extreme climes.
Agreed 100%.
We spend tens or hundreds of billions of dollars a year on ridiculous CRAP.
We at least get something tangible out of this. We get to support an ally and get the next best thing militarily to having to be there ourselves.
Where would we be today if the Israelis had not bombed the Iraqi Osirak nuclear site back in 1981?
The M1 Abrams tank was developed by a design team headed by Dr. Phillip Lett.
I grew up in a tiny crossroads named Leonia, Florida. There was a general store, another tiny general store which also had the post office in it. A Baptist church and a boarding house.
That was it.
Our preacher was Dr. Lett. He had a PHD from Yale. He and his wife were retired. He had been president of a Florida Bible College. He served as our pastor just to keep active.
I watched a two hour or maybe longer program on “The History Channel” about the development of the Abrams. They kept interviewing the head of the team. He looked just like our Preacher. I phoned Mother and asked her what Dr. Lett’s Son was named and she said it was Phillip. Also that he was an engineer at Chrysler and had developed the turbine car.
I immediately knew it was him. Our old Preacher’s kid had been the father of the M1 Abrams.
That’s a great story!
7 Degrees of Separation indeed!
New equipment always receives bad reviews from people who have never used the equipment in operation.
I haven’t flown the F-35 but those who have love it.
During WWII nobody wanted the P-38 when it came out because it was not very maneuverable, but it was VERY fast and had great armor. Properly used it could shoot down the enemy with ease. Top Aces in the Pacific shot down as many as 40 enemy in the Lightening. Later the maneuverability was enhanced but it was never meant to be a dog fighter. It was a quiet plane and could sneak up and strike before the enemy could do anything about it and disappear.
While the Air Force name for the plane is Lightening II the pilots have named it the Panther. Either name is descriptive of what it can do.
The F-35 is not meant for dog fighting. It is a stealth plane that can see but can’t be seen. It can get close enough to launch missiles before being detected and get away before the enemy even knows it was there. It can destroy ground radar without being detected, it is a magic plane.
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