- Plan aims at “Israel’s air superiority”: defence minister.
- Netanyahu vows to increase defence budget to $118bn.
- Israel to make “blue-and-white” groundbreaking aircraft: PM.
Israel on Sunday approved a multi-billion-dollar deal to acquire two combat squadrons of fighter jets from the United States, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying it would “reinforce” its air superiority.
The purchase includes a squadron of F-35 multi-role stealth fighters from Lockheed Martin and another of F-15IA warplanes from Boeing, Israel’s defence ministry said.
The plan aims to “ensure Israel’s air superiority for decades to come,” Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a statement.
“The F-35 and F-15IA acquisitions are central to the ‘Shield of Israel’ plan, which is designed to give the IDF (Israeli military) a lasting qualitative edge,” he said.
The F-35, a joint project between the United States and a number of allies, is one of the world’s most advanced military aircraft. Israel already operates several dozen of the jets.
Netanyahu said it would bolster Israel’s “overwhelming air superiority” but pledged to start building its own weapons and fighter planes.
“Our pilots can reach anywhere in the skies of Iran and are ready to do so, if needed,” he said.
“Over the next decade, we will add 350 billion shekels ($118 billion) to the defence budget in order to manufacture such weaponry in Israel and not be dependent on foreign suppliers,” he said.
“At the same time, we will develop ‘blue-and-white’ groundbreaking aircraft. This will change the entire picture,” he said, using a term for products developed in Israel.
Israel’s air force played a central role in the war in Gaza, carrying out one of the most intense aerial bombardment campaigns in recent history.
Thousands of strikes targeted what Israel said were Hamas positions, including tunnels, command centres and rocket launch sites, but vast areas of the densely populated territory were devastated, including homes, hospitals and schools.
Israel has also fought two wars against Iran in less than a year, during which its air power has been used for long-range strikes deep inside Iranian territory.
Israel recently approved its 2026 budget, which includes an increase in defence spending of billions of dollars.
Israel’s military spending has steadily increased since the war in Gaza began.
