Israel becomes first country to deploy 'world's most advanced' F-35 fighter jet amid doubts about funding in UK
Israel says it has become the first country in the world to carry out combat airstrikes with the new F-35 stealth fighter, the advanced warplane that will soon be used by Britain and other militaries around the world.
The general did not say where the Israeli F-35s had been used but Israel has carried out repeated strikes in Syria in the last three years. It has also hit Hizbollah targets in southern Lebanon but much less frequently.
Israel is also believed to be carrying out secret strikes against jihadists in the Sinai desert in coordination with the Egyptian military.
“We have performed the first operational F-35 strike in the world. We attacked twice in the Middle East using the F-35 – we are the first in the world to do so,” Major General Amikam Norkin, the head of the Israeli air force, said in a briefing to foreign air force officers on Tuesday.
Maj Gen Norkin’s comments sparked widespread interest in military aviation circles worldwide. “The Israeli Air Force has proved once again its ability to pioneer combat testing of new aircraft,” wrote the Aviationist, a military blog.
The F-35s are being produced primarily for the US military but they will eventually be used by armed forces across the globe, including in Britain, Australia and Japan.
The UK has committed to purchasing 138 of the aircraft, built in the US by Lockheed Martin, and has so far bought 48 jets at a cost of £9.1 billion. But The Telegraphrevealed last week that government is reconsidering its pledge to purchase the remaining 90 because of the vast cost of the £190 million American stealth fighter.
The Ministry of Defence is reportedly thinking of instead about buying European-made Eurofighter Typhoons, which are roughly half the cost of the F-35, and made by a European consortium that includes the UK.
A decision to go back on the F-35 purchases could spark a major row between the UK and the Trump administration, which has made a priority of selling US weapons to American allies.
Israel received its first F-35 fighters in December 2016 and declared within a year that the jets were operational and ready for combat. The F-35 is the most expensive but technically advanced fighter jet in history.
Maj Gen Norkin showed the foreign officers a photograph of an Israeli F-35 over Beirut, in what was widely seen as a warning to Hizbollah about Israel’s ability to carry out strikes in Lebanon.
Eurofighter Typhoon v F-35
An Israeli F-16 was shot down by a Syrian missile in February of this year, the first time an Israeli aircraft has been lost in combat since 1982.
Defence analysts said the loss may have only increased Israel’s eagerness to deploy the F-35, which has advanced stealth capabilities that help to shield it from enemy missiles.
So far at least 14 F-35s have been delivered to the UK. British pilots are still testing and training the aircraft and they have not yet been deployed in combat by the RAF or the Royal Navy.
