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Israel Air Force Chief Sings F-35′s Praises,
Israel Air Force Chief Sings F-35′s Praises, But Warns of Growing Missile
Threat
By: Barbara Opall-Rome, January 24, 2017
http://www.defensenews.com/articles/israel-air-force-chief-sings-f-35s-praises-but-warns-of-growing-missile-threat
TEL AVIV – Israel’s top Air Force officer on Tuesday praised the
“revolutionary” operational potential of its new fifth-generation fighter –
the F-35 Adir – yet warned that growing anti-aircraft threats could mean
that part of its fourth-generation force could be downed in combat.
Speaking at the annual conference of Israel’s Institute for National
Security Studies (INSS), Maj. Gen. Amir Eshel, IAF Commander, singled out
Russian-deployed S400s in Syria, which he said “brings critical capability”
that could challenge Israeli operations in the region.
“Clearly we will encounter threats we never encountered before … in the air
and from the ground,” Eshel said of the S400 and a spectrum of other threats
posed by regional states and non-state actors.
“From all those threats, yes, there will be an ability to thwart part of the
activities of the IAF. I don’t delude myself. We are preparing ourselves so
this interference is kept to the bare minimum … but part of our activities
will be thwarted. That’s clear. Part of our planes will fall. That’s clear.
That’s part of war, but [these threats] will never be able to stop us,”
Eshel said.
As for the F-35, the first pair of which were delivered into IAF hands last
month, Eshel said the US-produced stealth fighter will lift the rest of
Israel’s fourth-generation frontline force of F-15I and F-16I fighters into
the next generation and preserve its air power supremacy for decades to
come.
US Representatives To Remain in Israel In Support of New F-35Is
“It’s more than just an aircraft. It will transform the entire service into
a much more effective, much more lethal force,” Eshel said.
“We are not adapting the F-35 to the IAF. That would be a mistake. Rather,
we’re adapting the IAF to the F-35. We’ll learn how to do this so that all
of the force will rise to the fifth generation,” he said.
Israel’s top air force officer said he was undeterred by criticism directed
at the F-35 program, and that the return on investment was well worth the
cost.
“There’s a lot of criticism that this doesn’t work and that doesn’t work.
But whoever has a smart phone knows that software changes all the time. This
is a smart plane, and there will be different upgrades and versions. … What’s
important is that it will know how to operate in places that nothing else
can, with a very high level of effectiveness across the spectrum of threats
and operational scenarios.”
In an address devoted to the singular attributes of airpower, Eshel said the
F-35 embodied flexibility, speed, agility and survivability that has become
a central element of Israeli force strength. “It’s a revolution; far better
than anything we have and anything that is flying in this region,” he said.
Source: http://www.imra.org.il/story.php3?id=72096
