Here’s how the US upgraded Israel’s F-35s to fight Hamas
The United States accelerated capability upgrades to Israel's F-35 fighter jets following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack. All the details
F-35s quickly upgraded by the US after the Hamas attack.
This is what was declared by the senior officer in charge of the Joint Strike Fighter program, Lieutenant General Michael Schmidt, reports Defense News .
Produced by Lockheed Martin Corp, the F-35 is the fifth generation JSF fighter that Israel has adopted in the customized "Adir" version. The country is also the only one in the Middle East to fly them.
Defense News also points out that the program executive officer for the F-35 has refused to reveal to the press the capabilities sent to Israel in the more than two months following the attack. But speaking to reporters after a hearing at the House Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces, Schmidt confirmed that the improvements in Israel occurred after the Hamas attack. Subcommittee Chairman Rob Wittman, R-Va., said during the Dec. 12 hearing that the F-35 Joint Program Office “has moved at breakneck speed” to support Israel by accelerating the weapons capabilities of its jet and increasing the flow of spare parts.
Meanwhile, in early November an Israeli F-35 intercepted and shot down a cruise missile for the first time.
All the details.
US UPDATES TO ISRAELI F-35s
As Defense News reports, Schmidt said at the hearing that Israeli F-35s performed “absolutely exceptional” in the war against Hamas, with a high number of aircraft capable of carrying out their missions.
Bill LaPlante, the U.S. undersecretary of Defense for acquisition and sustainment, said at the hearing that the F-35 program was able to quickly send updated mission data files to a nation in a week or a week and a half , Defense News reports again. Schmidt confirmed after the hearing that LaPlante was referring to Israel.
The mission data files are a “building block,” as LaPlante described them, containing the jet's memory of threats it might encounter during an operation and other information needed for combat, Defense News explains.
THE STATUS OF THE PROGRAM
The F-35 program “is not yet where it should be in these mission data files,” LaPlante said. But the recent rapid update of these files is a good sign, he added, and the lessons learned from that will be used throughout the program.
LaPlante said in written remarks that Israel has 35 of its 39 F-35s operational and engaged in missions.
TEL AVIV'S PARTICIPATION IN THE JSF PROGRAM
Additionally, Israel is the first country outside the United States to acquire the F-35. Tel Aviv received its first F-35 jets in December 2016. It became the first country in the Middle East to receive them and use the aircraft in combat in May 2018.
The country has agreed to purchase at least 50 aircraft. So far it has received 36. The remaining aircraft are expected to arrive in batches of two or three until 2024. Last September 3, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant presented an official letter of request (LOR) to the US and Lockheed Martin for the purchase of a third squadron of 25 F-35 aircraft.
THE NEW F-35s FOR ISRAEL
The new fleet will bring Israel's total of 75 combat aircraft over the next few years.
The additional 25 aircraft will be delivered in batches of three starting in 2027. “This new agreement will ensure the continuation of cooperation between US companies and Israeli defense industries in the production of aircraft parts,” Minister Gallant explained already in July .
ISRAEL HIT A CRUISE MISSILE WITH F-35
Finally, in early November the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claimed to have used F-35I Adir fighter jets to shoot down a cruise missile. It was the first known cruise missile interception by the American-made stealth fighter, Breaking Defense points out.
Israel did not specify which weapon it used to intercept the incoming cruise missile. However, the Israeli F-35I variants are armed with both AIM-9X Sidewinder and Aim-120 AMRAAM missiles, the American newspaper points out.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/smartcity/ecco-come-gli-usa-hanno-aggiornato-gli-f-35-di-israele-per-combattere-hamas/ on Thu, 14 Dec 2023 15:27:27 +0000.