Israel gives final approval to U.S. 5G fighter jet deal

Tel Aviv earlier said that the purchase of F-35 fighters would effectively eliminate the threat from Russian-made S-300 air defense systems.

06:37 17/09/2010

© AFP/ HO

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The Israeli government gave the final approval to the deal to buy U.S.-made fifth-generation F-35 Lightning II fighter jets, the Cabinet's press service said in a statement.
The deal was approved by Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak on August 15.
"The purchase of the world's most advanced military jets is an important step in strengthening the military potential of the Israeli state," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was quoted as saying.
The statement gives no details of the deal, but according to Israeli media reports the first batch of 20 planes would be delivered to Israel in 2015-17. The deal, worth some $3 million will be paid using U.S. military assistance.
Tel Aviv earlier said that the purchase of F-35 fighters would effectively eliminate the threat from Russian-made S-300 air defense systems because a series of computer simulations had clearly demonstrated that new U.S. stealth fighters outperform the Russian missiles.
The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), manufactured by Lockheed Martin, is a single-seat, single-engine stealth multirole fighter that can perform close air support, tactical bombing, and air defense missions.
TEL AVIV, August 15 (RIA Novosti)

RIA NOVOSTI