The ongoing war with the Iranian terror proxies in Gaza and Lebanon and with the growing tension with Iran , Israel asks the U.S to expedite some previously planned procurement of advanced fighters and combat helicopters.
In a recent visit to the U.S the senior officials of the Israeli defence ministry asked their counterparts ,to expedite the procurement of two types of fighter aircraft and an advanced attack helicopter.
The Israeli request is to expedite the supply of another squadron of 25 Lockheed Martin F-35, one squadron of Boeing’s F-15 EX and a squadron of the Apache E attack helicopter.
Israel at this point signed contracts for 50 F-35 of which 39 have been supplied. Another 6 will be delivered this year and the last 5 included in the signed contract, in 2025.
The Israeli airforce (IAF) some years ago decided to purchase the advanced version of the F-15 dubbed EX or IA (Israeli advanced ).
The F-15EX carries more weapons than any other fighter in its class, and can launch hypersonic weapons up to 22 feet long and weighing up to 7,000 pounds.
The IAF wants 25 F-15 EX and in parallel to upgrade its 25 F-15I’s to the same avionic configuration of the F-15 EX , except for the fly by wire system.
When the IAF made a decision to buy both more F-15 and more F-35 it was based on the assumption that in future combat scenarios, the targets will be protected by very advanced air defence systems. This will require a first wave of F-35 to neutralize those systems and then the “Flying Trucks” with heavy loads of very advanced weapon systems , will face diminished threats.
The new defence relations between Russia and Iran make the operational need for more F-15 urgent. This following reports that Moscow may sell its S-400 air defence systems to Iran that plans to deploy them to protect its nuclear sites.
The IAF operates 50 F-15 A/B/C/D . In addition the force operates 25 F-15 I.
Until now the forecasted delivery date for the F15 EX was 2028. Now Israel wants the delivery to start earlier.
The Israeli fleet of F-15 is essential not only to attack targets in Iran but also to achieve a fast stop of accurate rockets launched by the Hezbollah from Lebanon.
As reported By Zona Militar there is a debate whether to invest in additional attack helicopters or in more advanced armed UAV’s. The Israeli current request is for a squadron of the Boeing Apache E.
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