Israel to extend F-35I range amid war with Iran

JERUSALEM — Israel will develop a system for extending the range of its F-35I ‘Adir’ fighter jets, Israel’s defense ministry announced May 14.

Officials didn’t specify a target range for the upgraded aircraft. The F-35A — the model on which the Israeli version is based — currently has a range of 1,200 miles, as stated on the manufacturer’s website.

But the ministry mentioned that the development and implementation will involve adapting external fuel tanks based on an existing Cyclone design of the F-16I “Sufa,” Israel’s variant of the F-16, which has a reported range of approximately 1,300 miles.

Elbit Systems was awarded the development contract, valued at approximately $34 million (100 million NIS).

The announcement comes amid a fragile ceasefire between the United States and Iran, and roughly a month after the Israeli military operation “Lion’s Roar,” in which the Israeli Air Force struck targets deep inside Iran. During that operation, an F-35I scored the first air-to-air kill ever credited to an F-35 in combat, shooting down an Iranian Yak-130 — a Russian-built jet trainer used in a light-attack role.

Israel currently operates 50 F-35I aircraft across two squadrons. It is beginning to take delivery of 25 additional jets ordered in 2023, and earlier this month announced the opening of negotiations to purchase 25 more — a move that would bring the total fleet to 100 aircraft and expand Israel’s F-35I force to four squadrons.

The F-35I “Adir” is a fifth-generation multi-mission stealth fighter aircraft, manufactured by Lockheed Martin and used by the Israeli Air Force as a model specifically tailored to its requirements.

The aircraft combines stealth technologies, advanced data fusion, the ability to carry internal weapons, and includes Israeli-made electronic warfare, communications, and computing systems, which are embedded in the American infrastructure.

Tzally Greenberg is the Israel correspondent for Defense News. He has experience reporting on economic affairs as well as defense and cyber companies.

耶路撒冷——以色列国防部5月14日宣布，以色列将开发一种系统来延长其F-35I“阿迪尔”战斗机的航程。

官方并未透露升级后战机的具体航程目标。以色列版战机所基于的F-35A战机，根据制造商网站的信息，其目前的航程为1200英里。

但该部提到，开发和实施将涉及根据以色列 F-16I“苏法”战斗机的现有旋风设计来改造外部燃料箱，据报道，F-16I“苏法”是 F-16 的改进型，其航程约为 1300 英里。

Elbit Systems公司获得了价值约3400万美元（1亿新谢克尔）的开发合同。

这项声明发布之际，正值美伊之间脆弱的停火协议维持之时，距离以色列发动“狮吼”军事行动也仅过去约一个月。在“狮吼”行动中，以色列空军对伊朗境内纵深目标进行了打击。行动中，一架F-35I战斗机取得了F-35战机在实战中的首次空战击落战果，击落了一架伊朗雅克-130——一款俄罗斯制造的轻型攻击喷气式教练机。

以色列目前拥有两个中队的50架F-35I战斗机。该国已开始接收2023年订购的另外25架战机，并于本月初宣布启动购买另外25架战机的谈判——此举将使以色列的F-35I战机总数达到100架，并将以色列的F-35I部队扩充至四个中队。

F-35I“阿迪尔”是一款第五代多用途隐形战斗机，由洛克希德·马丁公司制造，以色列空军使用这款专门为其需求量身定制的型号。

该飞机结合了隐形技术、先进的数据融合技术、携带内部武器的能力，并包括以色列制造的电子战、通信和计算系统，这些系统嵌入到美国的基础设施中。

特扎利·格林伯格是《防务新闻》的以色列记者。他拥有丰富的经济事务以及国防和网络安全公司报道经验。