(Luft) Lockheed Martin F-35 - Lightning II

[Nightwatch]

F-35 jet purchase decision pending

Udi Shani convened a meeting with top IDF officers Wednesday evening to discuss the potential deal, which is expected to be decided upon at a meeting later this month that will be chaired by Defense Minister Ehud Barak.

Last month, the Pentagon sent the Defense Ministry a Letter of Agreement and gave it about 60 days to respond.

Under the proposed deal, Israel will likely purchase a single squadron of the advanced fifth-generation stealth fighter jet, which it would begin to receive in 2015, assuming that the project does not encounter additional delays in its development. The JSF is manufactured by Lockheed Martin.

[...]

Israel is primarily concerned with the price of the aircraft, which could go as high as close to $150 million.

As a result has also considered delaying the procurement and instead purchasing additional F-15s from Boeing.

[...]


Israel is also seeking to receive a high level of “offset” on the aircraft and has held talks with the Pentagon that could lead to business for Israeli industries valued at close to $4 billion.

This would mean that Israeli defense industries would receive a large percentage of the business so that money Israel spends on the acquisition is put back into the country’s economy.

One example of offset is the contract Israel Aerospace Industries has won to produce wing boxes for F-16s made by the Bethesda, Maryland- based Lockheed Martin, which is also the primary contractor for the F-35.

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=182171">http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=182171</a><!-- m -->

Lockheed Martin tut sein möglichstes um der IAF die F-35 anzudrehen.
Der Deal über eine Squadron wird durchgehen, davon ist wohl auszugehen.
Anschließend wird die Regierung Netanjahu bei Obama wohl weiterhin darauf drängen F-15SE zu verkaufen.
Denn wenn Saudi Arabien tatsächlich 84 F-15SE bekommen soll wie man momentan liest
( <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-07-21/u-s-saudi-sale-is-said-to-approach-30-billion-including-84-f-15-fighters.html">http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-07-2 ... hters.html</a><!-- m --> ) wäre das mehr als nötig.