But air force warns option may be costly
The Israeli air force is interested in acquiring the F-35B short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) variant of Lockheed Martin's Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), but the service is some way from making a decision, according to the service's senior procurement official.
"We haven't decided yet which type of aircraft we are going to buy," says Brig Gen Zeev Snir, head of the air force's materiel directorate. Israeli interest in the F-35B is partly linked to tentative navy plans to acquire a helicopter carrier also capable of hosting operations by STOVL aircraft.
The STOVL version offers enhanced operational flexibility, but this must be balanced against the type's cost and performance, he says. The F-35B is probably going to be "more expensive and more limited, from a point of view of load and range" than the F-35A/C air force and navy variants, he says. Discussions are continuing with the US Air Force on the JSF project, and Israel is "starting to learn about it and understand it", says Snir.
Israeli requirements for a two-seat version of the F-35 have receded, he says, with the aircraft's increased level of automation promising to provide a major leap in reducing pilot workload.
During an 18 October interview with Flight International, Snir also underlined the air force's determination to take delivery of JSFs already fully modified to meet national requirements.
"We would like to see the JSF come to the Israeli air force in the same way as the F-16I," he says. Introduced into Israeli service last February, the Lockheed Martin-built fighter arrived equipped with Israeli systems including software, electronic-warfare equipment and weapon systems.
"We believe strongly that we need an Israeli version of the JSF, the same way that we had with the F-16I," says Snir.
"We have to incorporate systems that are compatible with our own way of fighting, and we need the ability to control the configuration of the aircraft," he adds.
CRAIG HOYLE / TEL AVIV
Source: Flight International
