Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Conway speaking at a ceremony last week marking the rollout of the JSF STOVL verison.
Photo: Lockheed Martin
Posted on 12/25/2007 8:07:42 PM PST by sukhoi-30mki
Dec 24, 2007
IAF interested in new US-made jet
By YAAKOV KATZ
Fearing the possibility that airfields will be bombed and destroyed during a war, the Israel Air Force has expressed interest in purchasing a squadron of Joint Strike Fighters (JSF) with vertical take-off and landing capabilities.
In September, the IDF announced its plans to purchase at least 25 F-35 jets, with the option to purchase up to dozens more.
Delivery was initially scheduled for 2014, but The Jerusalem Post revealed in October that the Pentagon had in principle agreed to work to move up delivery of the fifth-generation and stealth-enabled aircraft to Israel by as early as 2012. The agreement was reached during Defense Minister Ehud Barak's visit to Washington.
Talks about the aircraft between Israel and the US have picked up speed in recent months, including the IAF's request to integrate its own technology into the jet. In November, Brig.-Gen. Yohanan Locker was in Fort Worth, Texas for talks with Lockheed Martin officials.
Eight countries - including Britain, Turkey and Australia - are members of the JSF. Israel enjoys the status of a Security Cooperation Participant after paying $20 million in 2003 to obtain access to information accumulated during the development of the jet, which will be priced at somewhere between $50-$60 million.
The IAF had initially planned to purchase the standard version of the aircraft, the F-35A, which takes off from runways. While Israel does not have aircraft carriers - traditionally used for short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) aircraft - the decision to consider the vertical airplane, called the F-35B, was made due to an understanding that at a time of war, Israeli bases and runways will be heavily targeted by enemy missiles.
The IAF would not confirm the report, and officials said that it was still premature to discuss which version of the plane it would be ordering.
Last week, Lockheed Martin held a rollout ceremony for the F-35B at its production plant in Fort Worth.
"This generational leap in technology will enable us to operate a fleet of fighter/attack aircraft from the decks of ships, existing runways or from unimproved surfaces at austere bases. We find that capability extremely valuable," Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Conway said during the ceremony.
The heart of the F-35B is a STOVL propulsion system comprising the most powerful engine ever flown in a jet fighter, in addition to a shaft-driven counter-rotating lift fan situated behind the cockpit.
During vertical or short takeoffs and vertical landings, doors above and below the lift fan open, and the aircraft can hover like a helicopter.
In this configuration, the F-35B can hover, land vertically, take off in a few hundred feet fully loaded, or take off vertically with a light load.
When the aircraft transitions from jet-borne to conventional wing-borne flight, the doors close and the pilot can then accelerate to supersonic speeds.
Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Conway speaking at a ceremony last week marking the rollout of the JSF STOVL verison.
Photo: Lockheed Martin
bump
Beautiful plane.... that, and the F-22 ... great birds.
In the reporter's defense, English might not be his first language. In any event, he should start lurking at FR so he can find some background info for his stories.
I believe the U.S. is preparing to de-commission one or more A/C carriers. We should consider a sale or lend lease of that(those) carrier(s) to Israel.
Can we rely on them not to sell it to the Chicoms this time?
Remember the Lavi? Built with our money. Now the J-10 “Chengdu.”
The carriers that the US is preparing to retire are over 40 years old.The Israeli navy has no logistical capability to handle & maintain such ships.Besides,it would need almost half it’s total personnel strength to just crew the ship.
Israeli-Chinese defense relations began when everyone incl.the US & Europe were selling to China.The Chinese FC-1 light fighter was started as joint development with Grumman in the 80s.
& the J-10 wouldn’t be what it is,if it were not for Pakistani assistance with an F-16.
“The carriers that the US is preparing to retire are over 40 years old.The Israeli navy has no logistical capability to handle & maintain such ships.Besides,it would need almost half it’s total personnel strength to just crew the ship.”
This is hardly the time to be decreasing the number of our aircraft carriers. Not with China’s and India’s navies on the rise.
We should have a minimum of 12 CBGs and one training carrier. The next carrier to be decommissioned is a diesel. After that, it’ll be the Enterprise. Personally, I think the gap between the GHWB and the Ford is too large. In the interim they should build one more Nimitz-class, name it the Ford, and then start on the new class.
Here’s a thought- if we’re going to sell Israel the planes, why not cut out the middle man and just put complete sets of plans on the open market before the sale (and before Israeli spies have a complete set). At least that way our treasury gets something out of our defense secrets being compromised.
Forgive me for mentioning Israelis and money in the same sentence, but I do hope they don’t buy too many 35Bs. Pilot-carrying military aircraft just don’t seem to have a very promising future. F-22 Raptor, $200 million, MQ-1/9 Predator or Reaper, $15 million. And the unmanneds will get smaller and chaeper, over time, too.
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