By Jim Morris, Warrior Vice President, News
Israel is buying more F-35s. And the House of Representatives is at odds over how many of the planes the Pentagon will be allowed to buy.
On Tuesday, Israel has agreed to acquire its third squadron of the fifth-generation fighter jet. According to the country’s defense ministry, an Israeli delegation in the US signed a letter of agreement to buy 25 F-35s from Lockheed Martin.
The deal is valued at $3 billion, which will be paid for by US military aid to Israel.
Meanwhile, the stage is set on Capitol Hill for a battle over the plane. The House Appropriations Committee has come out with its own version of the 2025 defense spending bill. The $833 billion measure would increase spending on the F-35. At the same time, it would prevent the Air Force from retiring the U-2 spy plane and some F-15s.
The appropriations panel wants the Pentagon to buy 76 F-35s in 2025 – more than the military has asked for. But the House Armed Services Committee wants to cut 10 to 20 F-35s from the Pentagon’s request. The money saved would be used for the program’s testing and evaluation.
As for Israel, the new deal will bring the number of F-35s in the country’s air force to 75. It had previously ordered 50 of the planes, but only 39 have been delivered so far.
Israel was the first country after the US to receive the F-35, taking possession of its first two in 2016.
As part of the agreement, Lockheed Martin and Pratt & Whitney, which makes the engines, will give Israeli companies a role in building some of the parts.
There are at least 18 countries besides the US that fly the F-35. In the last few years, Switzerland, Germany, Poland, Finland and the Czech Republic have bought the plane. Lockheed’s vice president for F-35 international sales, JR McDonald, told Warrior that by 2030, there will be as many as 600 of jets flying for countries in Europe.
