Free Republic

Israel’s Ministry of Defense has completed the acquisition process of an additional 17 F-35 stealth jets, officially giving the Israel Air Force two squadrons of the world’s most advanced fighter planes. The purchase of the 17 additional planes, whose delivery will be completed by December 2024, was approved by the cabinet in November and the contract was signed by the director general of the Ministry of Defense Maj.-Gen (res) Udi Adam. Israel, which has already received five F-35 “Adir” jets now being tested by the IAF, will receive an additional two next week and another two jets by November, bringing...

The IDF said Thursday five battalions have been put on standby in the West Bank in light of the high tensions on the Temple Mount. After three Israeli Arabs came out of the Temple Mount complex armed and opened fire at an Israeli police force, killing two of the officers, Israel added metal detectors and security cameras at the entrance gates to the holy site to prevent the smuggling of more weapons inside. The added security was met with strong objection from the Palestinians, Israeli Arabs, other Arab nations and the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf. They claim the move constitutes a...

A glamorous Israeli soldier has become a social media star after she started posting photos of herself posing in very skimpy bikinis. Kim Mellibovsky has won legions of Instagram fans with her saucy snaps, which she shares alongside images of herself touting a gun in her very tight-fitting Israeli Defence Forces uniform. Kim, who is believed to be 22, also shares pictures of herself dressed up for nights out with her friends and practising her pout in her bedroom.

Recent photos of an Israeli Air Force (IAF) AH-64D equipped for the carriage of Rafael Spike missiles show that the indigenous precision-attack system is operational on the air arm’s attack helicopters. The photographs, taken by an AFM correspondent, have been cleared by the Israel Defense Forces censor, demonstrating that the Spike is now officially considered part of the Israeli AH-64D armoury. The missiles’ twin launcher is mounted on the right stub wing of AH-64D Saraf 743. The weapons carried may well be the Spike NLOS (Non Line Of Sight) that has already been integrated on several rotary-wing platforms, including the...

Israel is known to go its own way when it comes to its air combat capabilities. In the past, this has included making dramatic modifications to imported air warfare assets, and also developing its own unique weapons and sub-systems. The country's guided munitions and missile development and manufacturing abilities are especially strong, and US assistance in the form of cross-corporate cooperation and foreign aid have allowed the Israeli defense industry to field extremely high-tech systems that are tailored to the country's specific needs. One of these systems is the Stunner missile. RAFAEL Stunner interceptor and booster The missile is very...

Israel continues to win unique concessions surrounding its participation in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program. The country’s increasingly independent development could ultimately produce a version of the aircraft specifically suited to its needs that differs significantly from Lockheed Martin’s existing offerings. In May 2017, it emerged that Lockheed was specially building a one-off sub-variant of the F-35I "Adir" – meaning "mighty one" in Hebrew – for Israel and expected to deliver it by 2020. The plane would act as a testbed for the country’s planned, but unspecified modifications. The Israeli Air Force is planning on purchasing as many as...

May 13, 2017: Fifty years ago today, a false Soviet warning of large-scale Israeli troop concentrations along the border with Syria touched off a chain of events leading to the 1967 Six-Day War. However, as Middle East Quarterly editor Efraim Karsh explains in this advance-release article from the Summer 2017 issue of Middle East Quarterly, another all-out Arab-Israeli war was already "a foregone conclusion." It has long been conventional wisdom to view the June 1967 war as an accidental conflagration that neither Arabs nor Israelis desired, yet none were able to prevent. Had Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser not fallen...

The IDF was aware of the US strike on Syria before it happened and supported the attack, the IDF spokesperson said Friday morning.

It was disclosed Thursday afternoon that the soldier killed in the morning's terrorist attack at the entrance to Ofra was 20-year-old Sergeant Elhai Taharlev of the western-Binyamin Jewish community of Talmon. Elhai Taharlev studied at the Mekor Chaim High School in Kfar Etzion and later at the hesder yeshiva in Tekoa....

If you're into short barrel and Glocks then you may want to get a modifying kit for the Glock. CAA has a conversion kit that converts your Glock into a carbine. (sort of) Its aluminum and polymer RONI unit doesn't add any barrel length, the pistol is encapsulated, has an adjustable stock with cheekplate, a vertical foregrip and has lots of rail space for optics and a tactical light. Buttstock has the ability to store an extra magazine. What do you all think, is it worth getting one? See the Micro Roni footage here.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says it possesses a “limited amount” of 9mm bullets for agents in the field as well as for training purposes, and it is rationing its ammunition based on internal requests until it can award a new contract. [ ] The apparent role poor planning, or another agenda, played in the issue came to light when ICE said it would have run out of 9mm ammo by June 2017 in the absence of a modified contract with its supplier, Vista Outdoor Inc. So, the agency last month approved a $363,307 ceiling increase to contract No. HSCEMS-11-D-00002....

"The continued attempts to integrate women into combat units has completely failed," Colonel Raz Sagi told "Haboker Shel Keshet" on Sunday morning television. Sagi said the IDF has conducted decades of extremely extensive research which proves the attempts to integrate women into combat units has failed every time and caused failed mission and combat deaths, but it continues to ignore the obvious conclusions and continues the integration attempts "as if previous attempts had succeeded." "They're not giving us the real statistics," Sagi said. "That's very problematic. The real test is in the field, and it's not about pushing the absolute...

Israel is likely to buy a squadron of Boeing's upgraded F-15s and must choose between Sikorsky-Lockheed Martin's CH-53 K helicopters or Boeing's CH-47 Chinook. The IDF is preparing for two major deals with the US, including the procurement of aircraft designed to renew its stock of warplanes and transportation helicopters. It has been decided to purchase two air force squadrons, following the establishment of a squadron of F-35 Adir fighters, the world's most advanced stealth aircraft. The IDF received its first F-35s in December. Most of the money for the procurement will come from $3.33 billion US aid money allocated...

For some time now, various news outlets have claimed that Israel is already using its pair of recently-delivered F-35I Adirs in a combat role even before they've been declared operational by the Israeli Air Force. But today, military aviation journalist Thomas Newdick conveyed a report by a French journalist that not only claimed the F-35Is have been active over Syria, but also details what targets they specifically took out on their mission there. Additionally, the writer claims the Adir's first combat missions occurred in January, just a month after the aircraft arrived on Israeli soil. Thomas Newdick skeptically summarizes the...

Israeli jets allegedly struck targets near the Syrian capital overnight on Wednesday, reportedly a weapons shipment to the Shiite militant group Hezbollah, Lebanese media reported. Syrian media reported witnesses hearing "loud explosion sounds" in the early morning hours. According to Lebanese media, the targets that were hit around 3.00 a.m. were affiliated with the Assad regime and were the regime army's 3rd Division in the al-Katif suburbs of the capital. The report also claimed that the IDF struck from within Lebanon, circling the Beqaa Valley and Baalbek, so as not to be blocked by the Russian defense systems operating in...

Sgt. Azariya sentenced to 18 months in jail over death of Arab terrorist. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ozk-WAAHd8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=12&v=uZ65MzEugLo MainAll NewsInside IsraelWatch: Azariya sentenced to 18 months in prison Watch: Azariya sentenced to 18 months in prison Sgt. Azariya sentenced to 18 months in jail over death of Arab terrorist. Contact Editor Arutz Sheva Staff, 21/02/17 12:04 Share IDF sergeant Elor Azariya was sentenced to 18 months in prison Tuesday afternoon, after being convicted of manslaughter in January. The head of the judicial panel, Maya Heller, said that "the act of punishment is difficult and complex. We will do what is appropriate for the...

Captain Or Ben-Yehuda of the Israeli Defense Forces has cemented a legacy that will endure well past her lifetime. The young, decorated IDF Captain was in charge of a company of soldiers when they were violently attacked by nearly two dozen terrorists near the Egyptian border. Read full article at Tribunist.......http://tribunist.com/lifestyle/this-female-idf-soldier-fights-off-23-terrorists-in-ambush-attack-after-being-shot/

Captain Or Ben-Yehuda of the Israeli Defense Forces has cemented a legacy that will endure well past her lifetime. The young, decorated IDF Captain was in charge of a company of soldiers when they were violently attacked by nearly two dozen terrorists near the Egyptian border. Due to her leadership and bravery, she and her men were able to survive. Captain Ben-Yehuda was in charge of the Caracal Battalion which was stationed near the Israeli / Egyptian border. Three suspicious vehicles quickly approached the battalion’s position and Captain Ben-Yehuda along with a driver went to check them out. As they...

The Israel Defense Forces is considering opening additional combat positions to women, including possibly placing women on the Sa’ar 6 warships currently being built in Germany that are to be deployed to protect Israel’s offshore natural gas rigs in the Mediterranean. The proposed integration of women in combat positions, including the Armored Corps and the Air Force’s search and rescue unit, has sparked opposition among some Orthodox rabbis, particularly over women serving in tank units. In remarks last week on the issue, Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot said the IDF was opening more combat roles to women, but added that...

The Defense Ministry is mulling manufacturing the planned new IDF armored personnel carrier - the Eitan - in the US and purchasing it with US military aid. The planned new IDF armored personnel carrier (APC) - the Eitan - will be manufactured in the US and purchased by Israel with US military aid, according to internal discussions by the IDF land forces and the Ministry of Defense. Such a decision is liable to disappoint Israeli defense companies and dozens more small and medium-sized companies in Israel involved in the Merkava tank program. These companies hoped that their involvement in the...