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Wednesday, August 11, 2010     INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING

Israeli analysts at odds over purchase of F-35

TEL AVIV — The debate among leading military analysts here is intensifying over the feasibility of Israel's planned procurement of the U.S.-origin Joint Strike Fighter.

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Some analysts asserted that the F-35 was vital for Israel's deep-strike precision capability, particularly against Iran. Others, however, warned that JSF would prove too costly for Israel to properly equip and maintain.

"You don't have to put all your effort into the aircraft," [Res.] Maj. Gen. Giora Eiland said.


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The Israeli military has been debating the advantages of stealth versus long-range firepower as part of the F-35 decision. Some analysts said stealth was too costly and would require a wait of at least five years while Israel's F-15 and F-16 fleet could be upgraded with a range of advanced weapons and subsystems.

Israel has been examining a Letter of Agreement from the United States to purchase 19 F-35s for as much as $2.7 billion. The Defense Department has demanded an Israeli decision by September 2010, Middle East Newsline reported.

In mid-August, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak, fresh from meetings with Pentagon officials in Washington, was expected to decide on JSF. On Aug. 11, Barak was scheduled to chair a meeting of senior officials and commanders on the LoA before relaying the document to the Cabinet.

Eiland, a former National Security Council chief and a consultant to the military, has argued that Israel would be wasting billions of dollars by purchasing JSF, expected to cost at least $160 million per unit. He said the Israel Air Force would benefit from upgrading and deploying advanced air-to-ground missiles on its existing F-15 and F-16 fighter-jet fleet.

"If we continue to use the very advanced [versions of the] F-16 and F-15 and upgrade some of the systems, we could save so much money that we could buy other important systems like ground-based missiles," Eiland said. "And you can use more [air-launched] standoff weapons because they have extreme precision and a very long effective range."

Eiland, in a statement to the U.S. magazine Aviation Week, envisions Israeli investment to develop a capability to fire salvoes of long-range AGMs toward Iranian or other enemy facilities. He said JSF would not contribute to such a strategy.

In contrast, former Israeli Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz has advocated the purchase of the F-35. Halutz, also a former Air Force commander, said Israel would require a smaller and stealth fighter-jet fleet.

"The [shrinking] force structure problem points us toward fewer, but more sophisticated platforms," Halutz, forced to resign after the 2006 war in Lebanon, said. "The F-35 fits this trend exactly. If its performance is as advertised, it will allow us to cope with a shrinking budget and force size."



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