Israel To Receive F-35A Fighter Jets By 2016-End

Israel is set to receive two Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning Joint Strike Fighters by end of 2016, senior company official said on Wednesday.

Israel will become the first nation outside US to receive the fighter jet.

The two jets are among 33 F-35s that Israel currently has on order. The defense establishment is keen to acquire another 17 in the coming years to form two full squadrons.

Five pilots and a squadron commander from Nevatim Air Base in southern Israel have been selected to become the country's first F-35 pilots and instructors, IAF sources added, describing them as the "core" of the first squadron.

F-35 fighter jets have the capacity to deal with advanced surface and airborne threats posed by missiles similar to Russian made S-300 Surface to Air Missile (SAM) systems, Lockheed Martin director of F-35 international business development, Steve Over said during his interaction with journalists in Israel a day after Russia announced that it was lifting a ban on the sale of the air defense system to Iran Wednesday.