Israel to Get Two US-Made F-35 Stealth Fighter Jets on Monday

On Monday, US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter will attend the delivery ceremony of two US-manufactured fifth-generation F-35 stealth jets in Israel, Israeli Air Force (IAF) announced.

TEL-AVIV (Sputnik) — Israel will receive two F-35 stealth jets on Monday, IAF Chief of Staff Brig. Gen. Tal Kalman said.

“The Israeli F-35 will become the first fifth-generation fighter jet in the Middle East and will give us a significant advantage compared to all the other players in the region,” Kalman said.

On December 10, Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said that Ashton Carter would visit Israel to accompany the delivery of the jets.

In late November, Israeli government approved a procurement of additional F-35 fighter jets in order to bring the total number of such aircraft in Israeli Air Force (IAF) service to 50. Israel will be the first country in the Middle East to obtain such aircraft.

The F-35 project is the most ambitious and expensive weapon system in the history of the US Defense Department, with a cost of some $1.5 trillion.