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The signature on the final agreement between the US and Israel for the supply of a first batch of F-35A LIGTHNING II fighter aircraft (a.k.a. JSF) would seem to mark a very important turning point in the political, strategic and military relationship between the two countries. The reasons for this author’s use of a cautious conditional tense will become evident in what follows. Needless to say, there never was any real doubt about the US being ready and willing to accept an IDF order for the F-35 as soon as Jerusalem was interested in placing it. Now, in this specific...

Reported 3-year delay in F-35 program may impact delivery By YAAKOV KATZ 11/03/2010 04:52 Less than a month after Israel signs contact to purchase squadron of stealth F-35 fighter jet, an internal review may affect delivery to the IAF. Less than a month after Israel signed a multibillion-dollar contract to purchase a squadron of stealth F-35 Joint Strike Fighters (JSF), the Pentagon revealed on Tuesday that an internal review of the development program had concluded that delivery of the plane would be delayed by three years. On Tuesday, the Pentagon’s Defense Acquisition Board submitted a report to Secretary of Defense...

An announced engine selection for Israel's first batch of F-35 Joint Strike Fighters has sparked a new dispute between both rival manufacturers. Pratt & Whitney says the company has received a verbal commitment by Israel to buy the F135 engine to power the first batch of 20 F-35s ordered under a $2.75 billion agreement signed last week. The General Electric/Rolls-Royce team developing the F136 alternate engine claims the selection process remains ongoing. "We fully anticipate we will have an opportunity to compete with the F136" in Israel, GE says. The controversy leaves in doubt the first potential engine selection by...

Photographed by Reuters .....Prev Next Pause Play .1 ....Commander of the Egyptian Air Force Reda Mahmoud Hafez on Wednesday downplayed the military importance of a recent decision by Washington to provide Israel with a number of US F-35 fighter jets and dismissed fears that the move might alter the regional balance of power. Last week, Israel signed a contract with the US for the purchase of 20 F-35 fighter jets as part of what US officials described as an incentive package for the self-proclaimed Jewish state to move ahead with sputtering peace talks with the Palestinian Authority. “We're not alarmed...

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. and Israeli governments signed an agreement Thursday for Israel's purchase of a squadron of 20 American-made F-35 stealth fighter jets that have the capability of reaching Iran undetected by radar. Ministry of Defense Director-General Ehud Shani said at a signing ceremony at the Israeli consulate here that the jets would shift the balance of power in the Middle East, strengthening Israel's ability to defend its borders or counter with its own attack. "In the region there are a lot of problems and challenges, and part of the solution are military capabilities," he said. Israel...

Israel's purchase of 20 Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth fighters, the world's most advanced combat jets, significantly enhances the Jewish state's ability to defend itself "by itself," in the words of U.N. Ambassador Michael Oren. His comment following Thursday's contract signing in New York, is a clear reference to possible conflict with Iran, against whose nuclear installations Israel has threatened to launch pre-emptive strikes. However, Israel is unlikely to take delivery of the first of the fifth- generation fighters until 2015 at the earliest, with completion scheduled for 2017. That should rule the F-35s out of any long-range mission against Iran...

Following the Israeli Government decision to select the Lockheed Martin ] F-35 Lightning II as the Israel Air Force’s next-generation fighter aircraft, Israeli Ministry of Defense Director General (Maj. Gen. Ret.) Udi Shani signed the Letter of Offer and Acceptance for the procurement of the F-35 aircraft earlier today in New York. Israel will be the first country to receive the F-35 through the United States government’s Foreign Military Sales process. “We’re very pleased with the Government of Israel’s decision to move forward with the U.S. government’s Letter of Offer and Acceptance for the F-35,” said Tom Burbage, Lockheed Martin...

AP story

Israel has scored guarantees of billions of dollars of work on the stealth fighters Canada eventually hopes to buy — even though, unlike Canada and other nations, it has not invested any money in the development of the aircraft. Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak has said he approved in principle the proposed deal to buy 20 Joint Strike Fighters, adding that the country's industries have been guaranteed more than $4 billion in work on the aircraft in exchange for the purchase. Aerospace analysts say that will spark questions from countries such as Canada, Denmark, Italy, Britain and others that invested...

Israeli ministers, generals oppose purchase of US F-35 warplane DEBKAfile Exclusive Report September 18 It now turns out that unostentatiously, while overseeing the Israel-Palestinian peace talks, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton busied herself last week in Jerusalem with an errand of equal important to Washington: bulldozing Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak into agreeing to buy 35 Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning stealth warplanes for the Israeli Air Force at a cost of $4.7 billion. This transaction Israel can ill afford. debkafile's military sources report it is opposed by senior ministers, especially Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz,...

Stealth power By YAAKOV KATZ 11/19/2010 12:22 The F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter is now at the center of a security package offered in exchange for a new moratorium on settlement construction. When the gray-haired man entered the Lockheed Martin aircraft assembly plant in Fort Worth, Texas, last May, the workers thought he was just another corporate executive. His suit, tie and slightly British accent seemed to fit the mold. The man was then given the opportunity to do something that most visitors do not have when visiting the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) assembly line – sign his...

Deputy PM Meridor says promises needed in writing following Begin comments that US not to be trusted; Yosef to decide Shas stance. The security cabinet will not vote on a US proposal for a three-month settlement freeze until the Obama administration's promises are officially delivered to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in writing, Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor said in an interview with Army Radio on Tuesday. The comments came after reticence by Likud ministers about the US keeping its promises, and Shas saying it would not make a decision on the freeze until such a written proposal was received. Meridor...

Israel is in talks with the United States to acquire an additional 20 Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 fighter jets, a senior Israeli defense official said on Wednesday. Lieutenant General Gabi Ashkenazi said Israel would welcome another 20 fighter jets on the heels of a deal signed in October to buy about 20 of the radar-evading jets at a cost of about $96 million per aircraft. "As I understand -- and that's the latest information I have on this issue -- it's still under negotiation between the Israeli government and the administration," he said, speaking at a news conference alongside Admiral...

U.S. offers Israel warplanes in return for new settlement freeze Netanyahu presents security cabinet with Clinton's incentive of 20 F-35 fighter planes and security guarantees in exchange for 90-day West Bank building moratorium. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's seven-member inner cabinet discussed Saturday an offer by the United States to reinstate a freeze on West Bank Settlement construction in return for a package of incentives. Netanyahu presented Saturday the U.S. offer, which was discussed by Netanyahu and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday, to the forum of seven. According to the offer Israel would stop construction in the West...

Second squadron of F-35s is ‘an offer hard to refuse’ By YAAKOV KATZ 11/15/2010 02:06 Defense officials say arrival of joint strike fighters was of critical importance for the security of the State of Israel. Top IDF officers and Defense Ministry officials claimed Sunday that the arrival of a second squadron of F-35 joint strike fighters was of critical importance for the security of the State of Israel. In an effort to convince the Netanyahu government to impose a three-month moratorium on settlement construction in the West Bank, the Obama administration offered Israel last week a long list of security...

RAMALLAH, West Bank -The Obama administration's troubled attempt to revive Mideast peace talks took another blow Sunday when the Palestinian president rejected the latest U.S. plan to get the sides talking again. Mahmoud Abbas said a proposed 90-day freeze on Israeli settlement construction wouldn't get him back to the negotiating table unless it includes east Jerusalem, a condition Israel staunchly opposes. Palestinians claim east Jerusalem for their future capital. For decades, Israel has built Jewish sections around the city's periphery, and about 200,000 Jews live there now. Palestinians consider the large neighborhoods as illegal settlements. The impasse highlights the gaps...

The New York Times recently editorialized on The Settlements Issue The last American president to openly challenge Israel on settlements was George H.W. Bush and we commend President Obama for demanding that Israel halt all new construction. The controversy must not obscure Mr. Obama’s real goal: nudging Israel and the Palestinians into serious peace negotiations. Apparently the NYT is preparing the ground for Obama to back away from his absolutist demands and claim victory when negotiations start. I disagree. Had Obama never attempted to bring down the Netanyahu government by using settlements as a wedge issue, negotiations would have had...

Mitchell, Gates, Ross and a whole US team are in discussions for the sought-after freeze among other things.One Israeli diplomat commented on Israel's position, "The Americans now understand that if they get anything from us on the settlement issue, it will only be in the broader context of some kind of Arab return," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appeared to confirm this in a policy speech two days after Obama's White House meeting with the Jewish representatives. "Progress toward peace cannot be the responsibility of the United States - or Israel - alone," Clinton told the Council on Foreign Relations....

Aluf Benn, possibly Israel's smartest journalist, makes a fascinating point about the construction on settlement freeze issue: why is Israel's left so indifferent to it? In the past, the left (which can mean, say, Labor party through Peace Now) has eagerly rallied to U.S. efforts to press Israel for concessions, especially on the territories. Not this time, even though the concession being sought is smaller than many in the past. Benn attributes a lot of this to Obama's failure to sell his program. It is true that he has made no effort to appeal to Israelis on it but I...

The Arabs know what they want, and that is the end of Israel. The Jews are divided as to what they want. The left wants to get the hell out of the West Bank. The center, including Kadima and Labour, want to keep the settlement blocks containing most of the settlers but are prepared to uproot as many as 70,000 Jews, perhaps even 100,000. The right does not want to allow a Palestinian state to emerge, even if demilitarized. All are united in requiring an end of conflict and the recognition of Israel as a Jewish state. Netanyahu is a...