Itongadol.- Defense Minister Moshe Ya\’alon and US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel finalized the terms of Israel\’s purchase of a second squadron of F-35 fighter jets in recent days.
The move came after the previous Israeli government decided that the air force may buy up to three F-35 squadrons.
The first batch of F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jets are due in Israel in 2016, and 19 jets will arrive in Israel by 2018. From 2019, the jets that will make up the second squadron are expected to begin arriving.
The purchase of the second squadron is conditional on the approval of the ministerial committee for defense purchases, defense sources said.
The Israel Air Force will set up its first F-35 squadron in Nevatim Airbase in the Negev desert, which currently houses F-16 squadrons and C-130 Hercules transport planes.
The F-35 will ensure Israel’s regional qualitative edge in the first quarter of the 21st century, defense chiefs say.
Israel signed a $2.75 billion deal to purchase a squadron of 19 F-35s from Lockheed Martin in 2012, and received Pentagon approval to purchase an additional 55 platforms.