Cabinet mulls cancelling acquisition of flawed fighter-jet rejected by most NATO air forces.
A welcome decision made back in 2008 to purchase U.S.-made Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) jets no longer appears very attractive in 2016 – and Israel is considering backtracking on it.
So say Israeli government sources quoted by Middle East Newsline (MENL).
For one thing, the much-touted JSF has some inherent flaws, such as inadequate range, weapons payload and stealth capability. In addition, the Americans refuse to share the JSF source code with Israel. Israel would not be able to modify the platform to fit its needs, and would have to send damaged engines to Turkey or the U.S. for repairs.
According to the sources, some Israeli Cabinet members say the state-of-the-art version of the F-35 jet is outright “flawed.” Israel could find itself “increasingly dependent” on a fighter-jet that has been rejected by most NATO air forces, the sources say.
Until the JSF reaches its full potential, a highly-placed source said, “we will have dozens of very expensive aircraft with limited capabilities.”
Back in September 2008, the U.S. Defense Department approved the sale of 25 F-35 stealth-enabled Joint Strike Fighters to Israel’s air force. The $15.2 billion deal included an option to buy 50 additional bombers in ensuing years.
Israel was particularly interested in the plane because of its short takeoff and vertical landing capabilities. It was assumed that in war-time, Israeli bases and runways were liable to be heavily targeted by enemy missiles, rendering them all but unusable. The F-35B, with its ability to hover, land vertically, and take off vertically with a light load, would be invaluable under such circumstances. In addition, it needs only a few hundred feet of runway to take off when fully-loaded.
Even back then, however, manufacturer Lockheed-Martin faced claims that the jet performed poorly in tests and combat simulations. The company insisted that the JSF was the most advanced fighter of its class available.
Israel is currently expecting 33 F-35A jets, to arrive in two batches. The first aircraft are expected to arrive by 2017. Over 20 of them were supposed to have arrived last year, but the order was reduced to 14 by a government panel headed by Energy Minister Yuval Shteinitz. Seventeen F-35’s are still on order for 2017, and the Israel Air Force continues to push for even more to arrive by 2020.
The Netanyahu government has urged Washington to sell Israel the advanced F-15 fighter-jet that has been approved for Saudi Arabia. But the Obama Administration has refused, presenting the JSF as the only platform available for Israeli purchase with the more than $3 billion a year it receives in American aid.
A second source quoted by MENL says the “overall feeling [among Cabinet members] is that Israel can’t continue on this path and needs proven combat platforms.” The sources added that Israel would end paying a “strategic price” for “procuring, operating, and training for 50 inadequate aircraft.”
@ Bear Klein:
Correct you are.
Israel is not a special metals producing state. We can do and actually do quite fancy metallurgical work but not for jet power plants production. That I know about…
We do produce in Tefen jet engines critical parts and Bet Shemesh Engines has been threading on that for decades.
We used to live near that plant.
Now. Having access to special metals and working them correctly, we do know.
And the Lavi planners selected that firm as a source for engines for the aircraft.
I would not support the development of our own engine.
It is just too much investment and we would need to import hands on expertise as well.
There are Olim from the former USSR who are top level engineers and technicians in that field. They / we can design them and farm them out to several sources.
Otherwise we can do all the rest and then some.
@ SHmuel HaLevi 2:
I do not think we make the metals needed for an engine correct if I am wrong?
The Lavi was going to use a Pratt and Whitney engine correct?
@ Bear Klein:
Hola Bear!
Israel can make just about everything we can imagine.
IAI and its many branches form a mighty enterprise.
Practically though, there are many sources for engines.
What must be done is to shed dead weight at the top of both the military and civilian government.
The Russian engines are highly respected. China has come a long way in that field as well. Taiwan can slide right in as well.
@ SHmuel HaLevi 2:
Do you believe Israel can make the engines? I know we can make everything else in the plane?
Initially, I presented the facts on the F-35 several years back. We did so against a fellowship of US guided folk who was out to defend the untenable white elephant… with wings and a power plant that at times work, kinda…
WE MUST NOT fall into that trap. The PO must be terminated.
The Lavi.
When the Lavi Project was stopped by the government, I was managing the Sperry Corporation, Phoenix, AZ, USA, co production in Israel of avionic subsystems for the F-16.
The Lavi subject was amply discussed among GD and Sperry as well as others both here and in our Program Reviews in Fort Worth. Texas.
Bottom line. If Oslo was a monumental disaster delivered by the government of Israel, the same aggregate added great harm to the State by stopping the Lavi.
We, the people simply must cease to make of generals and former generals of dubious worth, if at all, into pedestal standing icons. The vast majority of that element does not merit even remotely that consideration.
Mr. Arens is a very good Engineer, one of the best, yet we must search for a young and vibrant team including the best candidates to restart our own design and production of the Lavi latest generation.
Regrettably, Netanyahu is a terrible leader also on this.
To re set our true direction on everything we must first clear the deck.
Israel will much more likely keep expanding its drone fleet and their capabilities than start on building its own fighter/bomber.
Anyone who isn’t already familiar with the story of the Lavi, and the political maneuvering that killed Israel’s independent fighter development capability, needs to be. There is an extraordinarily well-written book on the subject that was published just recently:
Israel is increasingly coming to regret the cancellation of the Lavi – a decision which effectively terminated any threat of an Israeli-developed alternative for whatever lame excuse for a fighter that the current U.S. administration might care to offer.
Bring back The Lavi and put Moshe Arens back to work doing something important. He has become a zombie writing for Haaretz. KEEP MOSHE ALIVE.
Cancel the F35. No spares or software access.How can you defend yourself with planes always in the shop. Faulty design. If there was a recall because of discovered problems, Israel will be fccccd.
Consider the F35 as a “Lead Balloon”.