The Israeli Air Force will receive its first two F-35 in a few hours at the Nevatim air base in southern Israel. The ceremony will be attended by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Reuven Rivlin, Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman and US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter.
In view of the ceremony, Liberman confirmed that he was Adir (code name of the Israeli F-35), will be a key element in preserving Israel's regional air superiority.
As happened in December of the 1976, when Israel was the first country outside the US to receive the F-15 fourth generation fighter, the fifth-generation tactical platform will be the first to fly in the Middle East.
Israel's F-35 is to be considered as a deterrent, although they will be needed by 12 to 18 months before it can actually enter service due to the different software additions. However, we are talking about an asset that is still evolving and with gaps that have had repercussions on costs and delivery times.
On the Nevatim air base in the Negev, a new training center for F-35 will be set up. Lockheed Martin announced that it had selected Elbit Systems for the implementation of the simulators. The latter provides services of outsourcing for the F-15 / F-16 air force in the Hatzor base. Finally, Elbit Systems is a world leader in the high-tech display sector.
Over the 50% of the training will take place on advanced simulators. This will reduce the cost of training pilots who will fly on the F-35. Lockheed Martin will manage the new training center: the final agreement between the two companies will be ratified in the coming months. Finally, the training center will be completed next year.
Lockheed Martin built 200 F-35. The fleet has accumulated more than 73.000 flight hours. Pilots enabled over 350. Israel's acquisition program includes 33 F-35A Conventional Take Off and Landing, or CTOL, purchased through the program of Foreign Military Sales (FMS).
Israel contributes to the F-35 program with the production of semi-wings for the F-35A by IAI - Israel Aerospace Industries, the contribution of Elbit Systems Ltd. to the helmet Generation III Helmet-Mounted Display which will be used by F-35 pilots around the world and with the production of composite components for the central part of the F-35 fuselage by Elbit Systems-Cyclone.
After the declaration of initial operational capacity (IOC - Initial Operational Capability) combat-ready for the Marine Corps and Air Force, the US Navy plans to reach this milestone during the 2018.
The first squadron composed of 19 aircraft will be operating with the Israel Air Force in the 2019. For that year, the F-35 should get the codes to enable the cannon.
Each Adir will cost 110 million dollars.
From the next few hours, the F-35 cell will be upset. Suffice it to say that Israeli F-15 and F-16 are considered the most powerful on the planet due to the heavy changes made to their original design. Lockheed Martin has satisfied a particular requirement of the Israeli Ministry of Defense: to extend the radius of action of the F-35 by at least the 30%.
The Israeli F-35, as was the case for the F-15 and the F16, will be a different fighter than those that Lockheed Martin will deliver to JSF program partners. It will undoubtedly be characterized by advanced systems and, among these, the greatest radius of action. The exact nature of the alterations (external and internal) is not clear, but some of these will have to be written in the precious source code, jealously guarded by the USA. Just Israel would have been able to implement the new features without requiring US assistance. It will be an exception for the ally in the Middle East, which will never be allowed to other partners.
The IAF has already requested specific additional tanks. It means that the Israelis want something more than just a standard tank. Integration must not affect the profile of the fighter and its characteristics stealth. Israel may be interested in extending the scope of the JSF to reduce in-flight supplies in long-range missions. It should be noted that in the past Lockheed Martin produced a special version of the F-16 fighter, with additional tanks, for the Israeli air force. The current range of an F-35 is approximately 1150 km. If the Israeli F-35 increased its flight range by 30%, it could hit Iranian targets. However, even with this greater capacity, the fighter would always need an in-flight refueling, considering that the Iranian targets are at a minimum distance of at least 1000 km.
While on the one hand the F-35 will receive all the additions until 2040, on the other hand, important changes will be available as early as 2020 (such as a new engine, system avionics and more powerful radar) that can be purchased at the discretion of the countries that they will decide to keep it up to date. The update of the Pratt & Whitney F135, for example, is considered imperative. In block 6, planned in the 2019, there are improvements to the engine, but a new one is being planned.
Future updates, not to be confused with The roadmap of development of Lockheed Martin to achieve full operational capacity, will be borne by individual nations that will be able to decide whether or not to keep the fighter in step with global challenges. Within the 2025 the propulsion apparatus will be modified or replaced, depending on the technology developed. The Air Force is currently funding theAdaptive Engine Transition Program both with Pratt & Whitney and with General Electric Aviation.
The Adaptive Engine Transition it can be summarized as follows: the Air Force wants a third air flow inside the engine. If it worked, the consumption of the 25% would be improved, reducing the thermal signature and increasing the thrust of 10%. Both companies received contracts for a billion dollars with prototypes ready for September of the 2021.
Among upgrade the Pentagon-funded F-35 also features a new system avionics, a more powerful radar and laser weapons.
The 2,82 billion-dollar deal, including aircraft maintenance and staff training, was signed last February after being approved by an Israeli ministerial committee on December 1st. The first squadron consisting of nineteen F-35 will be operating in the Israel Air Force at the beginning of 2019, while the acquisition of a second lot for the creation of a second squadron has already been confirmed.
In total, fifty Israeli F-35s.
(photo: Lockheed Martin)
