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US pitches unique F-35 fighter jet to Israel
The United States also would integrate bombs that use an Israeli precision guidance kit called Spice along with Python 5 air-to-air missiles made by Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd., Schreiber said in an interview.
In addition, he said, Israel would get a relatively inexpensive path for hardware and software upgrades to add future weapons.
On the other hand, the United States does not plan for now to put an Israeli electronic warfare system aboard the F-35, which is in early stages of production.
“Some time in the future, if policy changes, or things change, that could change as well,” said Schreiber, who heads the F-35 program’s international program for the Pentagon.
Dropping plans for incorporating electronic warfare systems would be a significant switch for Israel, which bought modified US-built F-15s and F-16s to incorporate such know-how. The Pentagon and Lockheed Martin are eager to wrap up an F-35 deal with Israel, which is tentatively planning to buy an initial 25 F-35s in fiscal 2012 with an option for 50 more.
The single-engine aircraft, designed to avoid detection by radar, could play a role in any Israeli effort to knock out what it regards as the threat to its existence posed by Iran’s nuclear program.
Schreiber said he met Israeli procurement officials in New York last week to discuss a “roadmap” for the proposed government-to-government F-35 sale. The United States co-developed the F-35 with eight foreign partners -- Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Turkey, Canada, Australia, Denmark and Norway. Together, the core group is projected to buy about 730 aircraft.
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