Feiglin: “The F-35 fighter is the biggest pile of junk in history”

T. Belman. I posted many articles about the plane’s deficiencies before Israel agreed to buy the planes.  As I recall the price tag was $150 million per plane.  The F-35 currently costs between $94 million (F-35A) and $122 million (F-35B). Once the commitment was given these negative articles dried up.  I wondered if that was because all the deficiencies were corrected or covered up.  The advanced F-16 cost $18 million.

By Moshe Feiglin, ZEHUT

The F-35 fighter is the biggest pile of junk in the world-wide history of advanced technology and its development will not end.

It is doubtful if it can even reach its strategic targets in Iran effectively and I have written much about this previously.  On entering the White House, President Trump considered cancelling the project but he, too, understood that the government is in too deep with Lockheed Martin and cannot allow this white elephant to come crashing down on its head.

Independent countries have cancelled orders for the plane but in difficult times like these, what are friends for? Friends like Israel – who in any case receives “aid” – and suckers like the gulf states –who “pay cash” (Trump).

By the way, the biggest swamp of corruption in Israel appears to surround the national security complex and the enormous sums expended on security acquisitions under the aegis of our famous  security ethos and “top-secret” security concerns. These serve as an uncontrollable temptation to accede to U.S. pressure and to the solicitation of Lockheed Martin to buy this unnecessary white elephant, instead of the advanced F-15 (for example).

“Barak pocketed a cut from every arms deal” explained former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to his loyal (and recording) Shula. I haven’t researched who was the Defense Minister who approved the Israeli F-35 deal – you can check for yourselves…

Concerning Netanyahu and the current deal:

The man who was willing to release to Gaza all the Hamas leadership at that time (something that even Olmert didn’t dare to do) in return for a photo opportunity with Shalit on the helicopter exit ramp – an act that was directly responsible for the subsequent deaths of many soldiers and the deterioration of Israel’s strategic standing – is certainly capable of convincing himself that this deal will not hurt us (and maybe that is even true) and to thereby indirectly permit its conclusion.

I do not know what the wider consequences will be of flooding the gulf states with American weapons, but it is clear to me that they could easily be turned against us. I don’t know if there is any limit to the quality of weapons that will be sold or to the security price that Israel will pay. It could be that the formation of a meaningful alliance in the face of the Iranian threat is an important consideration. American economic considerations would, in any case, win out, and sooner or later this deal would happen. This wouldn’t be the first weapons deal of this kind.

One thing, however, is clear to me: in the personal and political situation into which Netanyahu has been forced – his judgement is
no longer objective.

September 1, 2020 | 25 Comments »

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25 Comments / 25 Comments

  1. The F-35 is indeed expensive. Welcome to the American arms industry. Regarding its effectiveness, let’s stop already with the armchair quarterbacking. If you want to know if the plane is any good, ask the men (and women?) who fly it. Also devote some analysis to what it has already accomplished. Lastly, it should be remembered that by adding a new, and intrinsically different, type of weapon to Israel’s arsenal, it increases the IAF’s options, while greatly increasing the enemies’ difficulty, (and expense), to counter the possible threats. The F-35 may not (yet) be perfect, but it will likely prove its worth as a part of Israel’s arsenal.

  2. The F-35 is indeed expensive. Welcome to the American arms industry. Regarding its effectiveness, let’s stop already with the armchair quarterbacking. If you want to know if the plane is any good, ask the men (and women?) who fly it. Also devote some analysis to what it has already accomplished. Let’s also remember that adding a new, and intrinsically different, type of weapon to Israel’s arsenal, increases the IAF’s options, while greatly increasing the enemies’ difficulty, (and expense), to counter the possible threats. The F-35 may not (yet) be perfect, but it likely prove its worth as a part of Israel’s arsenal.

  4. @ Bear Klein:
    Thank you for the article, Bear. Of course, many factors were probably involved, military, political and economic; but the article gives good reasons for Israeli-American collaboration on the F-35. For Israel’s part, there is this:

    “One of the main scenarios is attacking targets protected by Russian made S-300 and S-400 surface – air missiles.”

  7. @ Sebastien Zorn:
    I hope that when you wrote all that, you didn’t realize that the “military aid” necessitates fomenting armed conflict around the world including in the Middle East in order to ensure continued arms sales by the US.
    You either glanced over my comment or didn’t read it at all.
    The only reason military-industrial complex “provides jobs for Americans” is because it would be entirely stupid and unsafe for the US to outsource its arms production.
    The US will “shield Israel diplomatically” only as long as it is in the US interests to do so, and I wouldn’t call trying to implement a two-state solution using a sovereignty trap and when this didn’t work, pushing through an agreement with UAE for, basically, the same reason and selling F-35s to the Arabs “shielding Israel”.

  8. what a spiders web feiglin weaves to hold all his bull shit. the only country which pulled out was canada and it did so for internal political reasons which had nothing to with the airplane, more so with it’s incompetent politicians something feiglin might know something about. yes it had teething issues but not deep dark reasons. every plane developed has had issues and some to be fair have not lived up to their hype. there is no israeli secret paint, there is no payback scheme, unless in your fevered mind. olmert is a lying corrupt politician – so his words cannot be trusted. in short, a pile of chicken droppings amounting to nothing. what a waste of electrons.

  10. @ Reader:
    It stabilizes the American economy and provides jobs to Americans at the expense of jobs to Israelis. There are certain hi-tech items that America has that Israel needs and vice versa. It would be in Israel’s interest to have joint collaborations rather than aid, in some cases with the US providing the funds and Israel the expertise. The aid was crucial at one point. Now, it provides a reason for the US to shield Israel diplomatically. Obama was/is not only anti-Israel but anti-America, albeit in a sneaky, incremental way. And now, his heirs in the Democratic party have multiplied.

  11. The US military aid is a subsidy to the US military-industrial complex, because any country who gets it (not only Israel) is required to buy American weapons with it.
    The US military largely exists to promote and protect the interests of the largest American corporations abroad.
    The US (like any country should) doesn’t have friends, it only and exclusively has its own interests in mind (which interests at this point are the same as the interests of the very few richest Americans).
    So, if the US chooses to sell expensive junk to its vassals, who is to object?

  12. @ Sebastien Zorn:
    Since it has been clarified it is not a condition of the UAE – deal with Israel. Which does not totally matter in the end because the US can do what it wants over the current Israeli objections to sell the plane to the UAE.

  13. It’s been rumored and controversial that sale of this plane to the UAE was a condition for the treaty. Critics were saying that this might erode the strategic technological edge over all of its neighbors that Washington had promised Israel would always have.

  14. I read that President Trump allowed Israeli engineers to fix the bugs and sell the fix back to the US for $2 million. Obama didn’t permit Israeli engineers inside the plane.

  15. Some of the Israeli defense companies have been busy adapting unique electronic systems and weapon systems that fit the operational requirement of the IAF. The Israeli companies that are developing systems for the IAF’s F-35’s are reluctant to provide any details about the systems under development, but sources say the focus is on special air-to-ground systems and systems that can enhance the F-35 capabilities as a “knowledge center” for other forces in the air, on the ground and at sea.

  16. Here is more of the article. Read my next two comments as one article. Reference is the link above.

    EL AVIV: After a long internal debate, Israel’s military has decided to buy both another Lockheed Martin F-35 squadron AND another Boeing F-15 squadron, in a deal estimated at $3 billion.

    The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) general staff’s decision reflects the scope of missions the IAF will have to deal with in any major confrontation, especially one with Iran. Sources close to the issue say that, while the F-35’s stealth and advanced sensors are essential for some situations, in later phases of combat Israel will need other aircraft, ones with advanced avionics that can operate in conjunction with the F-35 and carry heavy loads of weapons. Israel has developed a variety of such weapons and the source that talked with Breaking Defense said, “we need a heavy truck for these systems.” That truck would be the F-15.

    The IAF plan is to upgrade its existing fleet of F-15I’s to the level of the IA variant. This will add to the budget burden.

    The voices for the purchase of more F-35 were based on its capability to gather and share intelligence. “With the threats Israel faces this capability is essential,” one of the sources said. Last year the IAF’s F-35 participated in a massive exercise and proved their capability to serve as “targets generator” for other fighter aircraft.

    One of the main scenarios is attacking targets protected by Russian made S-300 and S-400 surface – air missiles. The F-35’s participated for the first time in such an exercise, designed to penetrate the northern sector, and proved their worth. The F-35 is the only aircraft designed with a requirement that it be able to defeat advanced Russian SAM systems, like the S-300, which are operational in Syria. The IAF did not explain why the exercise simulated areas protected by the more advanced S-400, like the ones purchased by Turkey. One explanation may be based on Turkey’s declaration that it might deploy the S-400 near its border with Syria.

    Israeli sources said that the S-400 may be rushed to the area “under certain circumstances” and that is the reason that the pilots are being trained against it. Those sources added that the current dispute about the gas reservoirs in the Mediterranean has the potential to cause “major confrontations”.

    Another scenario is of the IAF suppressing salvos of missiles launched by the Hezbollah in Lebanon, which has an arsenal of some 140.000 rockets, some with very heavy warheads. According to Colonel A. from the IAF: “The enemy is capable of launching big salvos of rockets. Our mission is to strike even before a single rocket is launched.”

    The two aircraft will be equipped with some Israeli developed systems. The F-15IA will carry more of these, as access to its baseline systems is easier. The F-35’s advanced electronic warfare systems, security systems and other sensors are heavily protected by the United States.

    The decision to buy both airplanes is surprising as the big deficit in the Israeli national budget makes it hard to finance such a big acquisition plan.

    The Lockheed Martin F-35 test aircraft will be delivered to the Israeli Air Force (IAF) later this year together with six additional aircraft part of the 50 under contract. So far twenty aircraft have been delivered.

    The IAF has prepared a list of weapon systems and “functional” systems that it intends to test on special F-35 test aircraft to be delivered this year. It was built according to specifications that took two years to prepare.

    The aim of the special aircraft is to help test Israeli-developed systems to the IAF’s F-35’s. “All our platforms have been upgraded to enable stretching the flight envelope while using the unique weapon systems made by the Israeli industries,”an IAF officer from its flight test center said.

    The test aircraft will enable the flight test center to enhance the capabilities of the F-35 (Adir) in air-air and air-ground missions using the highly classified systems developed for this purpose in Israel.

  17. @ Bear Klein:
    Good link, Bear. I could only get the teaser because I’m not subscribed, but I get the gist of it: F-35 is a force multiplier, supplying capabilities that F-15 and F16 do not have, and able to work well in concert with them.

  18. Eitan Ben Eliyahu former commander of the IAF, told Breaking Defense that the F-35 will add two main capabilities to the IAF: “The stealth is one major capability especially in our region, where enemy countries are operating huge numbers of ground-to-air weapons. The second capability is the one that allows this aircraft to receive and distribute all kinds of combat data from a long list of sensors. This is very important for an air force that is performing combat missions almost continuously.”

    So far, Israel has signed contracts for 50 F-35s. The plan is to buy 25 more.

    Good article on this subject is found at

    https://breakingdefense.com/2020/02/israel-buys-stealth-lotsa-weapons-2nd-squadron-of-f-35s-f-15s/

  19. Feiglin is flat wrong. Israel has upgraded the F35 range and it can reach Iran. Already has the rumor says. It enhances the older F16s and F15s capabilities.

    If Israel does buy enhanced F15s in the future it will work well together with those also. The enhanced F15s are not full stealth like the F35s but carry a bigger payload and cost less.

  20. Israel’s secret new weapon?
    Israeli company uses nanotechnology to develop paint that makes planes disappear off radar

    after a series of media hype, this topic has disappeared from the media just like it’s Invisible LOL… If this paint works what benefit is there in the F-35? The only advantage it has over other aircraft is STEALTH if you can accomplish this advantage cheapy and effectively at a fraction of the cost, the only reason to favor the F-35 is political. American pressure on BB/Israel to buy it. If Israel buys it then other countries follow. We are Americas best sales tool.

    Have Israeli researchers cracked the code of invisibility?
    An operational cloaking chip can be an extension of basic technologies.

  24. The problem is BB has become the news instead of making it and has been at the top too long fingers i the till or not.
    .

  25. I’m surprised that Moshe Feiglin would pen such a ridiculous article. The F-35 has suffered through a long and difficult development process, but it is getting better all the time. I seriously doubt that the leadership of the IAF views the F-35 as the biggest pile of junk in history. The F-35 was designed to be able to collect and distribute large amounts of data rapidly from various networked sensors. This ability will become ever more valuable in the future with the addition of combat drones such as the American Project Skyborg.