Israeli Air Force leaning towards buying new F-15s instead of a third F-35 Squadron

ISRAELI AIR FORCE LEANING TOWARDS BUYING NEW F-15s INSTEAD OF A THIRD F-35 SQUADRON

By Dario Leone
Feb 1 2018
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The F-15 is capable of striking targets at longer ranges than the F-35 and to carry a heavier payload than the Lightning II

A report by Amos Harel on Haaretz says the Israeli Air Force (IAF) is leaning towards buying another batch of F-15s instead of a third F-35 squadron.

Chief of Air Force Maj. Gen. Amikam Norkin is expected to make the recommendation this May.

Funding for the new fighters will come from a new 10-year U.S. aid package that will take effect next year.

Former senior IAF officers told that the service future squadrons cannot rely on only one type of combat plane (the F-35), hence the need for new F-15s. Moreover the F-15 is capable of striking targets at longer ranges than the F-35 and to carry a heavier payload than the Lightning II.

Noteworthy as we have explained last year IAF would like to replace its fleet of legacy F-15s (the oldest of which were delivered in 1976) with a more advanced variant of the fighter. The new Eagles, besides having an advanced active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, would feature advanced attack capabilities and a crew of two members.

Israeli Air Force leaning towards buying new F-15s instead of a third F-35 Squadron

No further details have been revealed of the potential F-15 variant that could be purchased by IAF on which evaluations are being based, but a report appeared on Flight Global last year said that it could be the so called F-15 2040C that Boeing was touting in 2016. The F-15 2040C proposal has been conceived to be an F-15C upgrade, which would allow U.S. Air Force (USAF) to supplement the F-22 in the Air-Superiority role with a reliable, tested and cost-effective combat plane.

The 2040C would feature an infra-red search and track, a double number of weapon stations, with quad racks for a maximum of 16 air-to-air missiles, Passive/Active Warning Survivability System, conformal fuel tanks (CFTs), upgraded APG-63(v)3 AESA and a “Talon HATE” communications pod allowing data-transfer with the F-22.

However the aircraft will be more advanced than those sold to Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

Nevertheless IAF should add a third F-35 squadron at the end of next decade.

As previously reported new threats faced by Israel have placed the potential purchase of the STOVL variant of the Joint Strike Fighter as a high priority. The F-35B’s short take-off and vertical landing capability would enable it to operate from quickly-prepared landing strips close to the front and away from the fixed airfields which rapidly come under attack during wartime.

F-35B Print
This print is available in multiple sizes from AircraftProfilePrints.com – CLICK HERE TO GET YOURS. F-35B Lightning II VMFA-121 Green Knights, VK00, 169164 / 2015

Photo credit: Israeli Air Force Facebook Page and Teddy Techer

Artwork courtesy of AircraftProfilePrints.com


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Dario Leone

Dario Leone

Dario Leone is an aviation, defense and military writer. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviation Geek Club” one of the world’s most read military aviation blogs. His writing has appeared in The National Interest and other news media. He has reported from Europe and flown Super Puma and Cougar helicopters with the Swiss Air Force.

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