Israel To Buy Fourteen F35 Fighter Jets From the United States

Israel has announced a deal with the U.S. to purchase 14 additional F-35 fighter jets for a cost of $3 billion. Israel’s Defence Ministry said in a statement on Sunday that the deal has been approved by an Israeli cabinet committee in November 2014. The new purchase will supplement its earlier purchase of 19 F-35s, back in 2010. The war planes are manufactured by Lockheed Martin Corp.

Reuters reports that the statement also claimed that the agreement has provision to supply another 17 fighter planes. Israel is expected to get the first two F-35s by the end of 2016, and deliveries will be completed by 2021, the ministry said.

The F35 fighter programme has been ambitious project of Pentagon with an outlay of $400 billion to build 2,457 radar-evading aircraft for the next two decades, meant for the use of U.S. military and its close allies.

Tensed Relations

Meanwhile, Ynet News reports the significance of the deal amid heightened diplomatic tensions between Israel and the U.S. over the proposed speech by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the U.S. Congress on March 3.

For Israel, the acquisition of the stealth jet known as Joint Strike Fighter will help in replacing the ageing fleet of F-16 warplanes and maintain its aerial dominance in the region. The purchase of fighters will be funded through the U.S. military aid to Israel.

Netanyahu's Address

The current tension in the relations between Israel and the U.S was caused by the proposed March 3 address of Prime Minister Benjamin Netayahu to a joint meeting of U. S. Congress. White House views Netanyahu's visit as an initiative of Congressional Republicans. The Republicans reportedly did not consult White House or State Department before making the program. The Obama administration has decried it as a break in diplomatic protocol. There is even talk of some Democratic lawmakers boycotting the speech.

There is also scepticism among a section of U.S. officials that Mr Netanyahu's trip to Washington is aimed at derailing a nuclear deal, which the U.S is negotiating with Iran. Hailed as an important foreign policy initiative of Obama administration, the Iran talks have made Israel apprehensive that that the Obama administration might oblige Iran with some concessions regarding its nuclear weapon plans. The negotiations are set to go into overdrive, considering its March deadline for a framework deal.

Aid for Israel

Though U.S security aid for Israel and cooperation with the military has not suffered any major setback, some experts warn of constraints if the relations get strained. It can affect the flow of more than $3 billion annual aid by the U.S. to Isreal, which normally takes care of its defence acquisitions.

Prof. Eytan Gilboa, an analyst notes that Isreal cannot take this aid for granted. There have been instances when Washington suspended the supply of arms, delayed procurement talks and reduced strategic and intelligence cooperation.

“These will be the consequences if Netanyahu is re-elected for another term in office. If the crisis continues, it could lead to a reduction in the aid or its delay,” Gilboa noted. According to him, a large portion of the Iron Dome and Arrow missile systems of Israel are US-funded. So will be the F-35 fighter planes to be purchased.

Danny Halperin, Israel's former economic attaché in Washington, points out that that it is the Congress that determines the aid package to Israel and the administration cannot touch it, even if the relations are strained. But he noted that the Obama administration still have options to undermine the aid. "If the administration is hostile towards Israel, it's no problem to say order X or order Y from a certain industry doesn't meet specific criteria, and Congress can't intervene," Halperin said.

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