Israel To Install Own Cyber Defenses On F-35 Fighters

Israel will install its own cyber defenses on the F-35 jets it will receive this year.

“F-35 would significantly upgrade Israel's ability to defend itself,” the air force's Chief of Staff, Brig.-Gen. Tal Kelman, was quoted as saying by Jerusalem Post Tuesday.

Kelman added that he had been greatly disturbed by the issue of cyber defense for the stealth aircraft.

After negotiations with the US and the plane's manufacturer, Lockheed Martin, an agreement was reached enabling the Israel Air Force (IAF) to create Israeli cyber defense solutions.

Kelman said the IAF is also striving to achieve an independent ability to maintain the aircraft within the country's borders, due to daily fighter jet operational flights, and the need to ensure rapid deployment in the event of a sudden armed conflict.

"We are integrating Israeli defense companies to carry out some of the maintenance," he said. The US will still be responsible for basic maintenance functions, which it will carry out of an installation at the IAF's Nevatim airbase in southern Israel.

Fifty percent of pilot training will be carried out on the F-35 simulator, Kelman said, representing an approximate five-fold increase in the percentage of simulator training that occurs in older, fourth-generation jets like the F-16.