The F-35 is a much-discussed plane. Donald Trump is not happy with its escalating cost and the plane has had its fair share of incidents and malfunction during its development. Despite this, the IDF had years ago decided to go in for this plane. The reason was simple; to continue to give the IAF a battle edge over its opponents, the Muslim states that surround it. The IAF has now received two of the first lot of 50 F-35 it had ordered years ago. The plane will be almost free for Israel as it will be financed out of a $38 billion line of military credit agreed by the USA.
Each plane will cost $ 100 million. The planes will be based on the airbase at the Negev desert.
Hostile environment
Israel is justifiably paranoid about its security as only three out of 22 Muslim states in its vicinity have recognized it. The surrounding Arabs have through four wars tried to wipe out the Israeli state but suffered a defeat in all of them. One of the basic reasons has been the complete command of the air by the IAF over its opponents and Israel hopes this air superiority will continue with the induction of the F-35.
Limiting factor
What happened in the 1967 war when the iAF destroyed the EAF on the ground may not happen again and the biggest threat are the new Russian air defense weaponry that they have inducted into Syria.
These are the S-300 and 400 M missile defense systems that could in an eventuality fall into the hands of Hamas. These SAM's could be the biggest threat to the F-35's. The plane because of its limited operational capacity could not be of much use to attack Iran, another nation that has vowed to destroy Israel. Despite the F-35 will be a factor in Israeli air superiority in the region.
The plane with its stealth capability will give an edge to the IAF against its opponents as the Russians are unlikely to give a similar capability plane to the Arabs.
Last word
The induction of the first two planes has started and will take over 2 years. The complete induction of all 50 will take years. In any case, the Arab states won't be happy.
