loading…
“The effort is to find the right balance between US restrictions and Israel’s operational demands,” said IAF Chief of Air Staff Brigadier General Nir Barkan in an exclusive interview with Breaking Defense,which was launched Thursday (23/9/2021).
Also read: US is confused, removes or supports Rp. 14.2 trillion for Israel’s Iron Dome
Barkan, the number two officer in the IAF and in charge of building the IAF’s future capabilities, said the special F-35 test aircraft had been used extensively to test more Israeli-made systems on the stealth jet.
While he would not go into detail about the Israeli-made technology that the IAF wants to add to the F-35, sources in the Israeli military said that it includes a new electronic warfare system, a new communications system that will allow a real two-way flow of attacks and the addition of a highly classified weapons system. to be loaded into the weapons bay when operating stealthily.
For your information, the US prohibits any buyer from tampering with the F-35 stealth fighter jet. However, Washington has so far provided leeway for the Zionist military to modify the aircraft specifically.
Israel has a record program for 50 F-35A, conventional take-off and landing variants. Israeli officials have started that its F-35 fleet has been used in different combat operations in the “near and far arena”, and the country is known to be more willing to use the fighter jets in combat situations than some other F-35 operators.
Asked to respond to Barkan’s comments, a spokesman for the F-35 Joint Programs Office (JPO), Brandi Schiff, said; “The F-35 JPO will continue to meet all requirements of Israel’s sovereignty in the United States Government’s security and disengagement policy, and will endeavor to balance US restrictions with Israeli demands.”
Israel is also in discussions with the US about procuring a new stage of advanced F-15s, with requests having been brought to the White House during Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s visit to Washington in August.
.
