Israels Ministry of Defense announced that a senior ministerial procurement committee has approved the acquisition of two new fighter squadrons from the United States: a fourth squadron of F-35I stealth fighters from Lockheed Martin and a second squadron of F-15IA multirole fighters from Boeing.
Each squadron consists of 25 aircraft, bringing Israels F-35I fleet to 100 jets and its F-15IA fleet to 50 once deliveries are complete. The country currently operates 48 F-35I aircraft out of an initial order of 50, with another 25 ordered in 2023 and deliveries set to begin in 2028. The first 25 F-15IA jets were ordered in 2024, with arrivals expected starting in 2031.
The deals, valued at tens of billions of shekels, cover production, full integration into the Israeli Air Force, sustainment, spare parts, and logistics support. Defense Ministry Director General Amir Bar directed officials in the US to finalize agreements with American counterparts.
Officials cited lessons from the recent Iran campaign, referred to as Operation Roaring Lion or Operation Lions Roar in various reports, as driving the procurements to address regional threats and maintain air superiority. The moves form part of broader defense spending increases, including a 350 billion shekel plan over the next decade.