The Israeli Air Force claims to have lowered the US F-35 stealth fighter jet in real military operations including the war against Iran.
The Israeli Air Force Commander, Major General Amikam Norkin, presented it to 20 other army officers on Tuesday (5/22/2018).
Reported by Haaretz, Norkin showed a picture showing the F-35 in Beirut, Lebanon, and said the plane had carried out attacks in two different places.
"The F-35 squadron is fully functional, we've flown it all over the Middle East region," Norkin said.
Norkin continued, Israel ordered 50 units of multi-engine single-engined fighter jet, and has received nine of them.
To get the 50 units, Israel must be poured 7.2 billion US dollars, or about Rp 101.7 trillion.
"The F-35 is not a toy, the aircraft is a convertible later, we plan to increase our purchases to 75 units," Norkin said, quoted by the BBC.
Artificial aircraft manufacturer Lockheed Martin's weapon is called as the most expensive program ever made by the State "Uncle Sam".
Because, until the end of the program in 2070, the total US must spend funds sebssar 1.508 trillion US dollars.
The aircraft with a maximum speed of up to 1.6 Mach, equivalent to 1,960 km per hour is drawn criticism from both the US and its allies.
Therefore, the price of the aircraft is considered expensive, reaching 100 million dollars, or about Rp 1.4 trillion, per unit.
A leading military blog in 2015 addresses the weakness of the F-35. It is said that the jet is not capable of maneuvering.
The F-35 can not beat the F-16 Fighting Falcon in close combat. The plane also has problems about the limited view of the pilot.
The analysis states, because the developers pay too much attention to the stealth system, it is believed the effectiveness of F-35 in air combat becomes reduced.
Jet Israel (AFP)
The Russian Defense Ministry on Monday named four Israeli FU-15 jets to attack the T-4 military base in Homs, Syria.
The two Israeli jets fired eight guided missiles but five of them could be knocked out before smashing the Syrian air base.
"The two Israeli planes are not entering Syrian territory and they opened fire while on top of Lebanon," the Russian Ministry said.
Meanwhile, the Israeli embassy in Moscow declined to comment on the allegations of the Russian government.
Lebanese television, Al-Mayadeen said on Monday morning an Israeli reconnaissance aircraft was seen flying over the Syrian air base.
Al-Mayadeen reported, the missiles released by Israeli jets dashed across Lebanese airspace over the territory of Keserwan and Bekaa toward Syria.
Meanwhile, Syrian news agency SANA reported that the attack was killed and wounded without detailing the toll.
SANA also suspects the US is behind the attack despite Washington denying its involvement.
"Currently, the Ministry of Defense does not order any attacks against Syria," the Pentagon's official statement said.
"Nevertheless, we keep monitoring the situation and encourage diplomatic efforts to detain anyone with chemical weapons in Syria," the Pentagon added.
The attack on the T-4 airbase came shortly after Western powers accused the Syrian government of carrying out a kimi weapon attack against Douma city.
The chemical weapons attack was reported by White Helmets, an organization that is heavily involved in helping war victims but by some is accused of being close to militant groups. *