Israel Looks to STOVL JSF

[unhappycamper]

Israel Looks to STOVL JSF

The IDF assesses that its bases and runways could potentially be targeted by enemy missiles during wartime, leading to a decision to consider the purchase of a JSF (Joint Strike Fighter) squadron with vertical take-off and landing capabilities (VTOL), such as the F-35B.

According to Lockheed Martin, the F-35B employs a short-takeoff/vertical-landing (STOVL) capability via a shaft-driven lift fan propulsion system. The STVOL, designed to replace the AV-8B Harrier, also carries a refueling probe fitted into the right side of the forward fuselage. It has more than twice the range on internal fuel, operates at supersonic conditions, and houses internal weapons.

"The plan is that we will get the F-35 as soon as it's possible," a senior IAF official told Aviation Week & Space Technology. He noted that the IAF will eventually acquire more than 100 F-35s and emphasized that the IAF wanted the JSF "the minute it is available."

A senior Israeli general explained that "the number of aircraft could be irrelevant...The main issue now is that we get the first squadron as soon as possible. We give the basic capability to the squadron, and later on we increase it ...At the beginning, we expect to get at least one squadron, with more to follow by the end of the decade ."

The Israeli rush to gain VTOL capability is certainly understandable, as the Jewish state faces the possibility of sustained missile and rocket attacks from at least three enemy states: Syria, Iran and Lebanon (via Hizballah).


Rest of article at: http://www.defensetech.org/archives/003935.html?wh=wh



uhc comment: The F-35 costs $233,000,000 and can't fly above 40,000 feet yet. Previous threads -->

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=259&topic_id=7033
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=259&topic_id=7849
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=259&topic_id=8042
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=259&topic_id=8208
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=259&topic_id=8626