By akademiotoelektronik, 15/10/2022

Lockheed Martin: The F-35 allows the Israeli army "to go where it wants"

On Tuesday, a senior Lockheed Martin official praised the qualities of his company F-35 combat aircraft.According to him, it allows the Israeli Air Force to carry out operations without being detected by enemy air defenses, giving a considerable advantage to Israel in the region.

"Stealth allows pilots to go where they need to go with the assurance of knowing exactly where they can fly without being seen.The incredible advantage they have, that no other plane can guarantee them at this level, is simply phenomenal.This gives them enormous confidence, "said Gary North, an American general in the retired air force and currently vice-president in Lockheed Martin, at a meeting with journalists in Israel.

Asked to know how the F-35 could behave in front of an opponent like Iran-if, for example, Israel should try to carry out an air strike on nuclear installations-North said that he could not comment on operationsprecise with details.However, he pointed out that the stealthy fighting aircraft could bypass all advanced air defense systems.

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"I will tell you that: against a very threatening" two-digit "environment, the F-35 is really a weapon of choice," he said.North referred to NATO's appointment conventions in which the advanced Sol-Air missile systems are designated with two figures.For example, the S-300s provided to Iran by Russia are called SA-10, while the oldest S-200 models are called SA-5.

However, as North took care to specify it, stealth does not mean completely undetectable."Nothing is invisible at a certain scope, but the beauty [of the furtive capacity of the F-35] is that one can remain stealthy for very, very long," he noted.

When the F-35 carries external missiles, on its wings, the plane is no longer stealthy, recognized North, even if the plane becomes less detectable once it has dropped its bombs.

Gary L. North, un ancien général décoré de quatre étoiles et actuel exécutif chez Lockheed Martin. (Crédit : US Air Force)

North went to Israel this week to speak with officials from the Israeli Air Force and the Ministry of Defense concerning the current fleet of the 20 F-35 combat aircraft, out of a total of 50 planesthat Israel agreed to buy.He will also discuss the possibility for the Jewish state to acquire another stealth combat aircraft squadron.

Israel is currently thinking about several options to buy new combat aircraft.The Jewish state can choose to acquire other fifth generation F-35 combat aircraft from Lockheed Martin or F-15X, fourth and a half generation combat aircraft, produced by its competitor, Boeing.

While the F-35 has much higher furtive capacities and other technological assets, the F-15X-an updated version of the F-15 old several decades-is able to transport more ammunition, which in factA much more interesting option for use as a bomber.

Naturally, North thinks that Israel should choose the Futive and latest generation F-35 that his company offers for sale.The cost of each plane will drop to $ 80 million per plane from next year since the production cost will decrease.

The retired general, who served as a pilot of the Air Force, reacted to the remarks made by the former US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter in Tel Aviv earlier this month.Carter said he thought that the F-35 would be the last fighting aircraft piloted by a man to be produced by the United States.Conversely, North said that he saw a future in which the pilots could become optional but that they would not be completely replaced by artificial intelligence and remote controls.

"Technological advances will give us important options, to go towards what we call planes piloted by an optional man," said North.

De gauche à droite, l’ancien secrétaire américain à la défense Ash Carter, l’ancien chef du renseignement militaire Amos Yadlin et l’ancien chef d’état-major de Tsahal Gadi Eisenkot lors d’une conférence à l’Institute for National Security Studies à Tel Aviv le 9 décembre 2019. (Crédit : INSS)

"We are now working in our Skunk Works [The Research and Development Branch of Lockheed Martin] to develop aircraft with pilot, without pilot or what we call Mumt - the association of the two - where you can control and pilotAn F-35 either with a completely autonomous flight or a vehicle controlled remotely for an operation, ”he said.

The representative of Lockheed noted that one of the advantages of the F35 is based on its ability to survive, thanks to a wide range of integrated technologies that reduce the risk of crash.In particular, there is the automatic slope of Lockheed Martin, which takes control of the device if the pilot loses consciousness or that he is unable to pilot the plane.

This system is installed on all Israeli F-35s, according to North.He had not been installed on a Japanese F-35 who damaged himself in the Pacific Ocean this summer, after the pilot was the victim of a "spatial disorientation", he said.

North stressed that in addition to its furtive capacities, the F-35 is equipped with electronic war systems, which far exceed the capacities of other planes.

"In the open market, it is nine times more powerful than any other electronic jamming system," he said.It is extremely powerful, which strengthens personal protection not only for the device, but also from the entire training ".

Un F-35 israélien dans un hangar lors de de l’exercice aérien multinational « Drapeau bleu » à la base d’Ovda, au nord de la ville israélienne d’Eilat, le 11 novembre 2019. (Crédit : Emmanuel DUNAND / AFP)

North praised the great diversity of radars and other plane sensors.According to him, his equipment allows the F-35 to shoot down cruise missiles approaching.

In recent months, the Israeli army has warned that Iran could try to carry out an attack with cruise missiles, which unlike ballistic missiles can be controlled remotely, which makes them more difficult to shoot down by systems of defenseAerial.This type of ammunition was used, with drones, to carry out an attack on Saudi oil installations, earlier this year.

North said that the plane radar system could detect a small flying cruise missile at low altitude."This is the most powerful flying radar system in the world.It is very effective, very little detectable, at a very low altitude, with high-speed flying objects, planes or cruise missiles, "he said.

"In the end, a cruise missile is not very different from a plane, it's just smaller," added the former general.

Le Premier ministre Benjamin Netanyahu se tient devant un avion de combat F-35 à la base de l’armée de l’air israélienne à Nevatim, dans le sud d’Israël. (Crédit : Amos Ben Gershom / GPO)

According to the vice-president of Lockheed Martin, negotiations between his business and the Israeli air force concerning a third squadron continue but are at downside because of the absence of government in Israel, which blocks any discussionconcerning the budget.

"We were asked for information on a third squadron, and the company takes this very seriously," he said.There are clearly some difficulties since the government must train, but these are internal questions ”.

Asked to find out if the recent American government's decision to refuse to sell the F-35 fighter plane to Turkey after its purchase of the Russian air defense system S-400 could lead Israel to receive its next 30 combat aircraft faster, North said it was a possibility, but that it was up to the Israeli government to decide if it was really what he wanted.

Until now, Lockheed Martin has delivered more than 475 F-35 combat aircraft in the world, of which eight have declared the operational aircraft.Four other countries are waiting to receive their first planes.

Nearly 1,000 pilots were trained in piloting the plane and thousands of people are certified to ensure the maintenance of the plane, said North.

Except in the event of a serious unforeseen event within the delivery time, the 30 remaining F-35 combat aircraft of Israel will be delivered in groups of two or three by 2024.Israel is the second country after the United States to receive the F-35 of Lockheed Martin and one of the few countries to be authorized to modify the latest CRI combat aircraft-even if the extent of the changes that Israel will beauthorized to bring is still discussed with the United States.

The draft detractors criticize the development and production delays that affected the plane, but also the very high cost of the device initially set at $ 100 million per plane, even if the price decreases as moreplanes are built.Lockheed Martin claims that the F-35 needs less maintenance than other planes, which makes it even more competitive in the long term.