Major delays may kill Israel's F-35 purchase
Just as the IDF and the American government were finally working out the issue of installing Israeli technology in the F-35 jets to be purchased by the IAF, a major problem has arisen with the contract that pushes back the first delivery dates for two years. That may lead Israel to cancel or postpone its signing of a contract altogether and to purchase older F-15I's instead. On Sunday night, IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi flew to Washington for talks with top Pentagon officials. Ashkenazi plans to speak with his American counterpart, Adm. Michael Mullen, and other Pentagon officials about the delays in the production of the JSF and how it will affect the IDF.You will recall that one of the very few legislative 'accomplishments' to which the Obama administration could point in its first year in office was killing the F-22, which was a plane that Israel had been promised and coveted. Obama was so pleased with his 'victory' (obtained by threatening to veto the entire armed services appropriations bill) that he went on national television to laud it. At the time I speculated that the F-22 may have been killed - at least in part - to keep it out of Israel's hands. But in light of the major delays in producing the F-35, the decision to kill the F-22 looks stupider than ever for the US and for its allies.
Last week, US Air Force Secretary Michael Donley said that the service’s plan to use the F-35 will probably be delayed by two years and cost significantly more than the $130 million initially expected.
Donley said that the F-35 would not be ready for the US Air Force until 2015, the date that Israel had initially wanted to begin receiving the stealth jet. The jet had been scheduled to become initially operational in 2013 before the Pentagon uncovered serious problems with the contract. Last month, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced that at least one senior manager would be fired and $614 million in performance bonuses would be withheld from lead contractor Lockheed Martin Corporation.
“If the Americans are only getting the plane in 2015, then it is difficult to imagine that we will receive it the same time,” the officer said, adding that the Air Force was currently in talks with the Pentagon about locking down a delivery date.
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Israel had planned to order a first squadron of 25 jets within the coming months and to procure another 50 by the end of the decade. Due to the delays, some IAF officers are calling for a review of the procurement plans and to consider the possible purchase of additional F-15Is made by Boeing Company. Israel already has a squadron of F-15Is that are capable of carrying massive amounts of weaponry and flying long distances, including to Iran.
What could go wrong?
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 12:38 PM
6 Comments:
Hussein is deliberately killing the US - not just "managing its decline" as so of his co-thugs have called it.
I wonder when strong-willed patriots in the US will finally call for Hussein to be charged with treason.
That F35 is too expensive
I would favor upgrading F15 stealth abilities or buy brand new Chinese made Jian 10 which are based on Israeli lavi design
In short,our top notch technolgy in design would return to Israeli hands
Too bad for Boeing and Lockheed Martin
Fired american workers will be able to blame one more obamination failure...
I'm thinking that Israel is probably looking pretty hard at the Russian/Indian stealth fighter. F-22 capabilities at F-35 F-35 price.
Israel should check out the newest MiG from Russia. Stealth, maneuverable, cheaper. It might be worth looking into. And Russia could use the money.
Thanks for all for your meaningful replies
Clearly,cheaper alternatives exist to replace our current fleet of 200+ F15s and F16s .
I do think,it is about time for our tiny medinat to wean away from mother america,at least for 3 years
You do guess why ....
There's two sides to this F-22 coin.
From what I've read at various military- and technology-related websites, three of America's major allies have at one time or other expressed serious interest in buying F-22s. Israel, Japan and Australia.
I wouldn't disagree with the theory of Hussein Obama & Co. having ideological objections to such an augmentation of Israel's air power from a few squadrons of those incredible F-22s.
There's also another possible explanation. Supposedly some in the upper levels of the US military and in the upper levels of the US defense industries believe that a lot of US military high tech that goes from the US to Israel also finds it's way into Israeli military high tech sold to other countries. That in effect, the US is paying for Israel's R&D, which then competes with American industry. This results in losses of US foreign sales, increasing America's balance of payments deficit and causing rises in US military costs to buy the same equipment from these American companies. I don't know enough to make even a guess on this. I've only read at a number of serious websites that this perception exists. It may also partly explain why the US has pushed so hard to stop certain Israeli foreign military sales.
As far as Japan is concerned, their military security has often been shown to be a joke. A number of Japanese military men in very sensitive technical areas -who can be accurately described as Geeks usually not so successful with women- have been victims of so-called "honeypot" traps. These use highly trained, very sexy women to get into sexual affairs with such men and in the process wheedle important top secret information from these Japanese military men. Asiatic Mata Haris.
I've read that a few years ago, a Japanese military man fell victim to one of these femme fatales and ended up giving her priceless top secret information on the Aegis radar system.(Which the US had allowed to be sold to Japan for it's own military use.)
By contrast, the American military, CIA and top civilian leaders (at least in previous administrations) have had excellent relations with, great confidence in, and no problems with Australia and it's military security.
In fact, the US provided Australia with America's very latest submarine sonar for it's Collins class submarines. This supposed quantum-leap-forward sonar, used in America's Seawolf, Virginia, and being retro-fitted to the Los Angeles and Ohio class nuclear submarines, has been described as "one of the Crown Jewels" of American military technology. That America would share this "Crown Jewel" with any other country bespeaks the great importance the US attaches to that country and the very highest level of confidence in that country and it's systems of military security. (Only the Brits also know so much about this system but for domestic political and economic reasons, have bought British sonar systems for their own nuke subs.)
However, America couldn't very well sell F-22s to Australia without also selling them to Japan and Israel. To not do so would likely cause serious problems with our extremely important alliances with Japan and/or Israel.
I've also read that the USAF top brass really consider the F-22 such a leap forward, such an incredible air dominance fighter at least for the foreseeable couple of decades ahead, they're just as happy to eliminate all these problems by simply preventing any foreign sales and seeing the F-22 only in the hands of the USAF.
(The American comedian Will Rogers used to say after delivering a great political joke, "All I know is what I've read in the newspapers."
"All I know is what I've read on the Internet" and I'm certainly not a military or high tech expert. If anyone else wants to comment on any of this, I'm sure we'd all like to read the comments.)
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