The minister "approved in principle" a recommendation by the military to purchase the F-35 or Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), a statement from his office said.

Israel is initially expected to buy 20 of the aircraft in a deal worth an estimated 2.75 billion dollars, the top-selling Yediot Aharonot daily said in several reports published last week.

Should the deal be approved by the security cabinet, it will be the most expensive weapons deal ever signed by the Jewish state, it said.

"The F-35 is the fighter plane of the future which will give the air force better short-range and long-range capabilities which will help state security," Barak said in the statement.

Delivery of the first F-35s, which are still not yet operational, is expected only in 2015, the paper said.

The price includes the cost of setting up a logistical infrastructure in Israel to allow local firms to assemble the fighter plane and manufacture spare parts for it.

Udi Shani, defence ministry director general, said a key element of the deal was an agreement which would allow Israeli industries to get involved in the assembly of the plane and the manufacture of spares.

"The considerations for approving the deal were not just about the operational abilities of the plane but the agreements for involving Israeli industries in the assembly of the plane," the ministry quoted him as saying.

Acquisition of the F-35, which is made by US aerospace and defence giant Lockheed Martin, will give Israel access to stealth technology that will provide it with air superiority over enemy anti-aircraft defences.

Share This Article With Planet Earth

del.icio.us	Digg	Reddit
YahooMyWeb	Google	Facebook

Related Links
The Military Industrial Complex at SpaceWar.com
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com

US plans missile interceptor sale to Kuwait S.Korea conducts anti-missile training amid N.Korean warning Japan considers exporting SM-3 missiles Washington backs Israeli Arrow II upgrade Missiles deployed in Abkhazia two years ago: Kremlin source LockMart Receives Contract From NAVAIR To Support Tactical Tomahawk Weapons Control System Russian missile deployment 'extremely dangerous': Georgia Russia deploys air defence missiles in Abkhazia: general US drone strike kills 13 in Pakistan India gets reassurance over Predator sale Australia does deal for RQ-7B Shadow UAVs Elbit Systems Launches Two New Robots Persistent Wireless Broadband Communications Network For The Battlefield Mexican navy aircraft to use Telephonics Raytheon's ASTOR Saving Lives In The Counterinsurgency Battle Testing Of Australia's Network Centric Command And Control System Completed Hypersonic ATACMS Motor Boosts Experimental Scramjet In First Flight LockMart Demonstrates New Launching System For Active Missile Decoys High-Performance, Shock-Tolerant ATALIN Selected By US Army Aerojet Demonstrates NextGen Solid Ramjet Fuel Britain to slim down defence backroom operations South African air force's woes Israel to buy world's most advanced warplane London to reduce fighter jets numbers Outside View: China syndrome Outside View: What's in a name? Vietnam-U.S. joint exercises start Russia And India Hold Joint Military Exercises Truck-borne laser weapon to be on way soon Maritime Laser Demonstration System Proves Key Capabilities For Shipboard Operations Phalanx Sensors Used In Laser Shoot Down Of Airborne Targets Boeing Accepts Delivery Of Key Component For US Army's HEL TD