Posted on 05/09/2011 8:49:05 PM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
Israel sticks to F-35 despite possible lag to 2018
Israel sticks to F-35 despite possible lag to 2018 09 May 2011 11:30
Source: reuters // Reuters
JERUSALEM, May 9 (Reuters) - Israel may get its first F-35 warplanes, seen as a bulwark against arch-enemy Iran, from the United States only in 2018 due to production delays, an Israeli newspaper said on Monday.
But the Haaretz daily said Israel is unlikely to buy jets from a rival American manufacturer as a stop-gap.
Israel bought around 20 of the radar-evading Lockheed Martin Corp F-35s, along with ancillary equipment, for $2.75 billion last year, saying delivery would start in 2016 or 2017. Scheduling and budget glitches may have postponed that by a year, Haaretz said. It quoted Ehud Shani, director-general of Israel's Defence Ministry, as playing down the hold-up.
"I am not nervous about it," Shani said, adding that he saw a boon for Israel's bid to incorporate products from its own electronic warfare, communications and other high-tech systems in the F-35, which is also known as the Joint Strike Fighter.
"This may actually serve our interests. I favour an aircraft with as many Israeli-made systems as possible," he said.
U.S. officials had generally opposed the proposed changes as overly costly and potentially counter-productive.
"In the original timetable, it was argued that there was no time" to incorporate such systems into the Israeli F-35s, Shani said. "We will hear their conclusions and I expect a dialogue with the Americans over the new timetable and the changes."
Israel's current warplanes are mainly Lockheed F-16s and F-15s produced by Boeing , another U.S. manufacturer.
Boeing had lobbied Israel to buy more F-15s but Shani dismissed as "not relevant" the pos
(Excerpt) Read more at trust.org ...
First F-35A formally deliveredThe U.S. Air Force officially accepted the first F-35 Joint Strike Fighter from Lockheed Martin at its Fort Worth, Texas facility on May 5. The milestone, which occurred with the formal acceptance of F-35A AF-7, comes just under 10 years since the F-35 System Development and Demonstration contract was awarded to Lockheed, and around 14.5 years since the signing of the original JSF development contract.
For Israel, purchase of F-35s could turn into deadly mistake.
10 years from now, adversaries will be flying airframes with electronics similar to F-35. And be able to outmaneuver, outrun and outgun F-35.
You’re saying future models of MIG will be superior than F-35 10 years from now?
Thanks for another good post, sukhoi. Which is superior, the F-35 or F-22? I know they have different applications.
Can you imagine the nightmare of BRIC churning out Sukhoi T-50s in significant numbers and equipping them with copycat U.S. avionics.
Chicom Retrieve & Duplicate got F-117a and stealth Hawk, they'll get F-22 anf F-35 sooner or later.
Idea of flying trucks loaded with superior electronics looks good on paper but fails in simulator, let alone in real clash.
In 10 years who will have air superiority? USA, China, Russia, India?
The US obviously but with the risk of an erosion in advantage. Particularly with China making both qualitative and quantative improvements.
Everything I have seen puts the f-22 ahead of the f-35. But I am not sure it’s a fair comparison given they were developed for different roles.
The F-22 is for air dominance. Without it the F-35 would not have an easy time.
I've seen a chilling analysis by RAND corporation about Chinese/U.S. flashpoint in 2020 in Pacific theater.
The biggest problem for the U.S. will not be air superiority but the number of available air bases and their proximity to mainland China.
Fight over Taiwan sky could be won by Chicoms in 20 minutes.
And that's exactly where F-35 makes bad situation worse. In stealth mode, F-35 carries only half of missiles opponents will have. If not stealth, it's flying truck. That means, double number of F-35s will be needed. And double number of support (air tankers, bases, pilots etc.)
Thanks for your concise answers. We’d better build a lot more F-22’s than planned. F-22’s are going to be carrier based also, aren’t they?
Scary, indeed. By 2020, who knows what our Pacific Fleet will be capable of.
Israel has had considerable success with their air force. I think it speaks volumes that they want to hang around for the F-35.
Nope, the F-22 won’t be carrier based. Lockheed Martin has preserved tooling used for making F-22s, so it’s technically possible that production can be relaunched.
I can’t believe it takes 15 years to get a fighter off the ground.
Actually they wanted the F-22 some years back, but that was not available due to export restrictions. Furthermore, Israel has had considerable success with the airforce even when flying planes that were on paper 'inferior' to what their adversaries were flying. Their skill and capabilities made up for the difference.
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