Lockheed Martin rolled out the first Israeli Air Force F-35A Lightning II stealth fighter during a ceremony at the company's Fort Worth...
Lockheed Martin rolled out the first Israeli Air Force F-35A Lightning II stealth fighter during a ceremony at the company's Fort Worth production facility in Texas on Wednesday.
The fifth generation fighter is the first of 33 F-35A Conventional Take Off and Landing (CTOL) aircraft, acquired through the U.S. government’s Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program.
The single engined, single seat fighter combines advanced low observable stealth technology with fighter speed and agility, fully fused sensor information, network-enabled operations and advanced sustainment support.
Israel’s F-35, called Adir – which means “Mighty One” in Hebrew – will be a significant addition to maintaining Israel’s qualitative military edge in the Middle East region, with its advanced capability to defeat emerging threats, including advanced missiles and heavily-defended airspace.
“Israel is proud to be the first country in the area to receive and operate it,” said Avigdor Liberman, Israel’s Minister of Defense. “The F-35 is the best aircraft in the world and the choice of all our military leadership at its highest level. It is clear and obvious to us and to the entire region that the new F-35, the Adir, will create real deterrence and enhance our capabilities for a long time.”
The first two Israeli F-35s are expected to arrive in the country in December. Eventually Israeli Air Force hopes to have a fleet of 75 F-35s including the short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) variant F-35C.
Israel’s contribution to the F-35 program includes Israel Aerospace Industries F-35A wing production; Elbit Systems Ltd. work on the Generation III helmet-mounted display system, which all F-35 pilots fleet-wide will wear; and Elbit Systems-Cyclone F-35 center fuselage composite components production.
Three distinct variants of the F-35 will replace the F-16 Fighting Falcon and A/OA-10 Thunderbolt II for the U.S. Air Force, the F/A-18 Hornet for the U.S. Navy, the F/A-18 and AV-8B Harrier for the U.S. Marine Corps, and a variety of fighters for at least 11 other countries.
Following the U.S. Marine Corps' July 2015 combat-ready Initial Operational Capability (IOC) declaration, the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy intend to attain service IOC this year and in 2018, respectively.
More than 170 delivered F-35s have flown more than 60,000 flight hours, fleet-wide.
The fifth generation fighter is the first of 33 F-35A Conventional Take Off and Landing (CTOL) aircraft, acquired through the U.S. government’s Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program.
The single engined, single seat fighter combines advanced low observable stealth technology with fighter speed and agility, fully fused sensor information, network-enabled operations and advanced sustainment support.
Israel’s F-35, called Adir – which means “Mighty One” in Hebrew – will be a significant addition to maintaining Israel’s qualitative military edge in the Middle East region, with its advanced capability to defeat emerging threats, including advanced missiles and heavily-defended airspace.
“Israel is proud to be the first country in the area to receive and operate it,” said Avigdor Liberman, Israel’s Minister of Defense. “The F-35 is the best aircraft in the world and the choice of all our military leadership at its highest level. It is clear and obvious to us and to the entire region that the new F-35, the Adir, will create real deterrence and enhance our capabilities for a long time.”
The first two Israeli F-35s are expected to arrive in the country in December. Eventually Israeli Air Force hopes to have a fleet of 75 F-35s including the short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) variant F-35C.
Israel’s contribution to the F-35 program includes Israel Aerospace Industries F-35A wing production; Elbit Systems Ltd. work on the Generation III helmet-mounted display system, which all F-35 pilots fleet-wide will wear; and Elbit Systems-Cyclone F-35 center fuselage composite components production.
Three distinct variants of the F-35 will replace the F-16 Fighting Falcon and A/OA-10 Thunderbolt II for the U.S. Air Force, the F/A-18 Hornet for the U.S. Navy, the F/A-18 and AV-8B Harrier for the U.S. Marine Corps, and a variety of fighters for at least 11 other countries.
Following the U.S. Marine Corps' July 2015 combat-ready Initial Operational Capability (IOC) declaration, the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy intend to attain service IOC this year and in 2018, respectively.
More than 170 delivered F-35s have flown more than 60,000 flight hours, fleet-wide.
