Israel’s F-35I Adir: The Most Dangerous Fighter on Earth?

In the early 2010s, Israel and the United States reached a tacit agreement on the F-35 acquisition with the understanding that local defense contractors would play a significant role in the process. Since F-35 export models had minimal country-specific changes, this was unusual. The F-35 IADIR is a unique Israeli variant of the F-35 export model. Israel has been interested in the F-35 since the early 2000s. The Israeli Air Force, IAF, pledged to buy 100 F-35s as to replace its F-16s by 2006. Some domestic military heavyweights opposed Jerusalem's F-35 ambitions, arguing that the costly export agreement would hurt Israel's defense sector. Finally, in the early 2010s, a tacit compromise was reached. Israel would move through with its F-35 acquisition, but only with the active participation of its domestic defense contractors. Since the F-35 export models had minimal country-specific changes, this was unusual. The Pentagon hates even minor foreign alterations to F-35 export batches. British F-35s will be compatible with the European Meteor air-to-air missile, while Norwegian, Australian, and possibly Japanese and South Korean models will be with Kongsberg's naval strike missile. The IAF wants more than just new weaponry. Israeli defense officials seem to doubt the F-35 as stealth performance is long-term viability. A senior IAF source told Aviation Week, We think the stealth protection will be good for five to ten years, but the aircraft will be in service for 30 to 40 years. Instead, the IAF wants the F-35 as an advanced-due platform, so we need electronic warfare capabilities that can be rapidly improved. The basic F-35 is fine. More software will do. Jerusalem offered to layer the IAF's suit adjustments on top of the F-35's current avionics instead of modifying its fundamental systems, something the U.S. didn't like. Benjamin Cohen, an Israeli defense contractor, compared it to an iPhone app that seamlessly integrated with the F-35 jet's software suite to improve capabilities. The F-35I is one of a few F-35 variants with special IAF-tailored helmet-mounted displays, bespoke data link functionality for Israel's armed forces, and enhanced data gathering and processing. These changes are significant enough to warrant the I designation. The F-35I will carry Israel's Spice 1000 bomb kit as planned, though the F-35 contract between Jerusalem and Washington is unclear. Israel is pushing for even more Pentagon concessions, including permission to independently perform heavy maintenance and some major external modifications. Israel has requested 50 fighters. The purchase discussions call for 19 F-35A versions and 31 F-35I models.