US quickly updated Israeli F-35s after Hamas attack, officials say

WASHINGTON — The United States sped capability updates to Israel’s F-35 fighters after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, the top officer in charge of the Joint Strike Fighter program said Tuesday.

Lt. Gen. Michael Schmidt, program executive officer for the F-35, declined to identify to reporters the capabilities sent to Israel in the two-plus months following the attack, noting the program strives to keep all nations flying the jet supplied with spare parts and capabilities.

But speaking with reporters after a hearing before the House Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces , Schmidt confirmed the improvements rushed to Israel occurred after Hamas’ deadly attack that killed at least 1,200 people. The Palestinian Health Ministry said more than 18,000 people have died as a result of subsequent Israeli air and ground attacks in the Gaza Strip.

Bill LaPlante, the U.S. undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, said at the hearing the F-35 program was recently able to hurry updated mission data files to a nation in a week or week and a half. Schmidt confirmed after the hearing that LaPlante was referring to Israel.

Mission data files are a “brick,” as LaPlante described them, containing the jet’s memory of threats it might encounter on an operation and other information needed for combat.

The F-35 program “is still not where it needs to be on these mission data files,” LaPlante said. But the recent rapid updating of these files is a good sign, he added, and the lessons learned from doing so will be used across the program.

LaPlante said in written remarks that Israel has 35 of its 39 F-35s operating and carrying out missions, with the help of a surge in sustainment support to maximize the nation’s aircraft readiness.

The subcommittee’s chairman, Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Va., said at Tuesday’s hearing the F-35 Joint Program Office “moved at a breakneck speed” to support Israel by accelerating its jets’ weapons capabilities and increasing the flow of spare parts.

Schmidt told lawmakers Israel’s F-35s have performed “absolutely outstanding” in its war to eliminate Hamas, with high rates of aircraft able to carry out their missions.

“We have added some capabilities to that airplane in a very short period of time,” he said. “Our team is doing everything we can to continue to move the ball forward there.”

Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. He has traveled to the Middle East to cover U.S. Air Force operations.

华盛顿——联合攻击战斗机项目最高负责人周二表示，在哈马斯10月7日发动袭击后，美国加快了对以色列F-35战斗机的能力升级。

F-35 项目执行官迈克尔·施密特中将拒绝向记者透露在袭击发生后的两个多月里向以色列运送了哪些装备，并指出该项目致力于确保所有使用该型战机的国家都能获得备件和装备。

但在出席众议院战术空军和地面部队小组委员会的听证会后，施密特向记者证实，以色列仓促进行的这些改进是在哈马斯发动致命袭击、造成至少1200人死亡之后进行的。巴勒斯坦卫生部表示，在随后以色列对加沙地带发动的空袭和地面袭击中，已有超过18000人死亡。

美国国防部负责采购和保障的副部长比尔·拉普兰特在听证会上表示，F-35项目最近能够在短短一周或一周半的时间内将更新后的任务数据文件快速发送给某个国家。听证会后，施密特证实拉普兰特指的是以色列。

任务数据文件就像一块“砖头”，正如拉普兰特所描述的那样，其中包含了喷气式飞机在作战行动中可能遇到的威胁以及战斗所需的其他信息。

拉普兰特表示，F-35项目“在这些任务数据文件方面仍未达到应有的水平”。但他补充说，近期这些文件的快速更新是一个好兆头，从中汲取的经验教训将在整个项目中得到应用。

拉普兰特在书面声明中表示，以色列39架F-35战斗机中有35架正在运行并执行任务，这得益于后勤保障的大幅提升，以最大限度地提高该国的飞机战备状态。

小组委员会主席、弗吉尼亚州共和党众议员罗伯·威特曼在周二的听证会上表示，F-35 联合项目办公室“以惊人的速度”支持以色列，加快其战机的武器能力并增加备件供应。

施密特告诉议员们，以色列的 F-35 战机在消灭哈马斯的战争中表现“绝对出色”，能够执行任务的飞机数量很多。

他说：“我们在很短的时间内就为这架飞机增加了一些功能。我们的团队正在竭尽全力，继续推进这方面的研发工作。”

斯蒂芬·洛西是《防务新闻》的空战记者。他此前曾在《空军时报》报道领导层和人事问题，并在Military.com网站报道五角大楼、特种作战和空战。他曾前往中东报道美国空军的行动。