Israel has approved the purchase of a third batch of US F-35 fighter jets for its air force, the Defense Ministry said in a statement on Sunday.
“The Ministry of Defense will purchase a total of 25 F-35s from the US government, which will be manufactured by Lockheed Martin,” bringing the number of aircraft operated by the Israel Air Force to 75, according to the statement.
The only country in the Middle East that has it.
The agreement, valued at about 3,000 million dollars (about 2,700 million euros), is financed by US aid funds, according to the same source. Israel is the only country in the Middle East to have F-35s, considered the most capable fighter jets on the market today.
“This new agreement will ensure continued cooperation between American companies and Israeli defense industries in the production of aircraft parts,” the statement continued.
US giant Lockheed Martin delivered the first two F-35s to Israel in December 2016 as part of an order for 50 aircraft. The army congratulated itself in 2018 for having carried out the “first operational strikes in the world with an F-35”, without however detailing the objectives.
A strategic and geopolitical purchase
The announcement comes hours after Israel said it had carried out airstrikes in Syria “in response to the launch of an anti-aircraft missile from Syria into Israeli territory earlier in the night.”
“The fighter jets targeted other targets in the area,” the army added. Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria since the start of the war there in 2011, most targeting Iranian or Hezbollah targets.
Source: BFM TV
