The Art of War
Tel-Aviv: Israeli F-35s already at war
Manlio Dinucci
"We are flying the F-35 all over the Middle East,
and have already attacked twice on two different fronts". General Amikam
Norkin, Commander of the Israeli Air Force, made this announcement on 22 May at
the conference on aerial superiority at Herzliya (a suburb of Tel Aviv), with
the participation of the Air Force chiefs of staff from 20 countries, including
Italy.
The general did not specify where the F-35's had been
used, but he hinted that one of the attacks was carried out in Syria. He also
showed images of Israeli F-35's flying over Beirut and Lebanon, but they have
almost certainly also been used for non-attack missions in Iran.
Israel, one of the 12 "global partners" of the
F-35 program led by US Lockheed Martin, was the first to buy the new
fifth-generation fighter, which it renamed "Adir" (Powerful). So far,
Israel has received nine of the 50 F-35's ordered, all model A (conventional
take-off and landing), and it is likely to purchase 75. This is a realistic
goal, given that Israel receives about 4 billion dollars annually in military
aid from the United States.
The training of the first Israeli F-35 pilots began in July 2016, at Luke
air base in Arizona. After having attended a three-month course in the USA, in
order to be certified as operational,
they have to complete several months of training
for "real flight" in Israel. Approximately 30 F-35 Israeli pilots
have been trained so far. On December 6, 2017, the Israeli Air Force declared
its first F-35 fleet fully operational.
Israel's military industry also participates in the F-35
programme. Israel Aerospace Industries produces wings for the F-35A; Elbit Systems-Cyclone produces fuselage components for the F-35;
and Elbit Systems Ltd. are developing the Generation III helmet-mounted display
system, which all F-35 fleet pilots will wear.
General Norkin's announcement that the F-35 is finally
"combat proven" therefore has the primary practical effect of
boosting the F-35 programme, which has already encountered numerous technical
problems and needs continual costly upgrades which increase the already
enormous cost of the programme. The fighter's software has been modified over
30 times and requires further updates.
General Norkin's announcement was therefore particularly
appreciated by Lockheed Martin's Chief Executive Officer, Marillyn Hewson, one of the speakers at the conference on "aerial
superiority".
The announcement that Israel has already used the F-35s in "real war"
operations serves at the same time as a warning to Iran. The F-35A's supplied
to Israel are designed primarily for the use of nuclear weapons, in particular
the new B61-12 precision-guided bomb. The B61-12, now in its final
stages of development, will be deployed by the
United States in Italy and other European countries. It will almost certainly
also be supplied to Israel, the only nuclear power in the Middle East, whose
arsenal is estimated at 100-400 nuclear weapons.
Israeli nuclear forces are integrated into the NATO
electronic system, as part of the "Individual Cooperation Program"
with Israel, a country which has a permanent mission at NATO headquarters in
Brussels, although it is not a member of the Alliance.
Italy, Germany, France, Greece and Poland participated
with the USA in Blue Flag 2017, the
largest international aerial warfare exercise in Israel’s history, in which nuclear attack tests were also carried out.
il
manifesto, May 23, 2018
NO WAR
NO NATO
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