6/16/2017 Israel Air Force Chief Sings F-35's Praises, But Warns of Growing Missile Threat

Israel Air Force Chief Sings F-35's Praises, But Warns of

Growing Missile Threat
By: Barbara Opall-Rome, January 24, 2017 (Photo Credit: Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images)

TEL AVIV Israels top Air Force o cer on Tuesday praised the revolutionary
operational potential of its new fth-generation ghter the F-35 Adir yet warned that
growing anti-aircraft threats could mean that part of its fourth-generation force could be
downed in combat.

Speaking at the annual conference of Israels Institute for National Security Studies
(INSS), Maj. Gen. Amir Eshel, IAF Commander, singled out Russian-deployed S400s in
Syria, which he said brings critical capability that could challenge Israeli operations in
the region.

Clearly we will encounter threats we never encountered before in the air and from
the ground, Eshel said of the S400 and a spectrum of other threats posed by regional
states and non-state actors.

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6/16/2017 Israel Air Force Chief Sings F-35's Praises, But Warns of Growing Missile Threat

From all those threats, yes, there will be an ability to thwart part of the activities of the
IAF. I dont delude myself. We are preparing ourselves so this interference is kept to the
bare minimum but part of our activities will be thwarted. Thats clear. Part of our
planes will fall. Thats clear. Thats part of war, but [these threats] will never be able to
stop us, Eshel said.

As for the F-35, the rst pair of which were delivered into IAF hands last month, Eshel
said the US-produced stealth ghter will lift the rest of Israels fourth-generation frontline
force of F-15I and F-16I ghters into the next generation and preserve its air power
supremacy for decades to come.

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Its more than just an aircraft. It will transform the entire service into a much more
e ective, much more lethal force, Eshel said.

We are not adapting the F-35 to the IAF. That would be a mistake. Rather, were adapting
the IAF to the F-35. Well learn how to do this so that all of the force will rise to the fth
generation, he said.

Israels top air force o cer said he was undeterred by criticism directed at the F-35
program, and that the return on investment was well worth the cost.

Theres a lot of criticism that this doesnt work and that doesnt work. But whoever has a
smart phone knows that software changes all the time. This is a smart plane, and there
will be di erent upgrades and versions. Whats important is that it will know how to
operate in places that nothing else can, with a very high level of e ectiveness across the
spectrum of threats and operational scenarios.

In an address devoted to the singular attributes of airpower, Eshel said the F-35
embodied exibility, speed, agility and survivability that has become a central element of
Israeli force strength. Its a revolution; far better than anything we have and anything

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6/16/2017 Israel Air Force Chief Sings F-35's Praises, But Warns of Growing Missile Threat

that is ying in this region, he said.

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According to the IAF commander, Israeli airpower must be prepared to operate in

multiple domains, from anti-terror threats close to home to more advanced threats in
neighboring states all the way to strike and intelligence collection operations conducted
thousands of kilometers away.

The air domain allows us to deal with a spectrum of threats near and very far away, he
said.

Eshel insisted that no other tool of military power, whether it involves cyber, special ops
or land and sea forces, is equipped to deal as e ectively as airpower, especially when
ghting in three theaters simultaneously.

The Israel Defense Forces demands that we be prepared to ght in three theaters
simultaneously . Our air assets can be in the northern theater in the morning, in places
much farther away in the afternoon, and in the evening, operating in Gaza. Thats whats
demanded and theres no other force that can do this but airpower.

In his address to the INSS audience, retired US Air Force Gen. Gary North, vice president
for customer requirements at Lockheed Martin, also cited threats posed by Russian
S400s in Syria and the bene ts of operating the F-35 in a high-threat environment.

The combination of stealth and sensor fusion from space and other airplanes gives
the individual aviator in the cockpit information and allows him or her to share it with
others ying in formation and other airborne platforms and to disseminate it all down to
command and control facilities on the ground, North said.

Israels F-35 Adir force, said North, provides strategic deterrence as well as the ability to
enjoy freedom of movement not provided by the very best of fourth-generation aircraft.

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6/16/2017 Israel Air Force Chief Sings F-35's Praises, But Warns of Growing Missile Threat

The Adir uses stealth to get very close and to enable operational decisions as to whether
to engage or disengage.

US lawmakers skeptical of arms sales to Saudi Arabia,

Pakistan, Lebanon
by Joe Gould
U.S. lawmakers on both sides of the aisle laid bare their suspicions about U.S. arms sales to Saudi

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6/16/2017 Israel Air Force Chief Sings F-35's Praises, But Warns of Growing Missile Threat

Coming soon: Details for Armys Light Reconnaissance Vehicle

by Jen Judson
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6/16/2017 Israel Air Force Chief Sings F-35's Praises, But Warns of Growing Missile Threat

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