The move came after the previous Israeli government decided that the air force may buy up to three F-35 squadrons.
The first batch of F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jets are due in Israel in 2016, and 19 jets will arrive in Israel by 2018. From 2019, the jets that will make up the second squadron are expected to begin arriving.
The purchase of the second squadron is conditional on the approval of the ministerial committee for defense purchases, defense sources said.
[jpost.com]
28/10/14
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Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon and U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel have finalized a deal for a new squadron of U.S.-made F-35 fighter jets for Israel, Israeli media has reported....
ReplyDeleteAccording to Israeli radio, the purchase deal was finalized during a visit by Ya'alon to Washington earlier this month.
The media report provided no further details about the agreement.
Earlier this month, Ya'alon had stressed the importance of Israel's relations with the United States following criticisms by Israeli Economy Minister Naftali Bennett of recent comments by U.S. State Secretary John Kerry in which the latter linked the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to the rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) militant group.
"The United States is helping Israel in a variety of areas, [including]… matters of security," Ya'alon had said.
"We must remember this and be grateful for it and the [U.S.] leaders," he added, going on to describe security cooperation between the two countries as "intimate" and "unprecedented."
By Abdel-Raouf Arnaout
www.aa.com.tr/en
28/10/14