donderdag 12 januari 2012

Israel fears F-35 delivery will be delayed


TEL AVIV, Israel, Dec. 5 (UPI) -- Israeli military planners say they are increasingly worried that problems in Lockheed Martin's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program will mean that delivery of 20 of the stealthy jets ordered in October 2010 for $2.75 billion will be delayed.

If the delivery timetable is pushed back to later than 2017, senior military officers say the Israeli air force could consider acquiring new Boeing F-15 Eagles or Lockheed F-16 Fighting Falcons to fill the gap.

At present, the first of the 20 F-35s -- enough for one squadron -- is scheduled to arrive in Israel in 2015 with delivery completion in 2016. Pilots are to undergo training with the U.S. Air Force starting in 2014.

Until a few weeks ago, Israeli officials were confident that the first JSF squadron would be delivered on time, despite problems that have delayed the project for at least three years.

Read more: www.upi.com