Three more F35 ‘Adir’ stealth fighter jets are on their way to Israel from the United States, according to a report by Hebrew-language journalist Nir Dvori at Israel’s Channel 2 News.
3 מטוסי "אדיר" חדשים בדרך מארה"ב לישראל. כרגע בחניית ביניים אי שם באירופה. מחר ינחתו בארץ ויגדילו את צי מטוסי החמקן של ח"א ל-33. pic.twitter.com/Lfu2p1Inu8
— nir dvori (@ndvori) March 23, 2022
The aircraft were reported to be in a stopover “somewhere in Europe” earlier in the day on Thursday.
The F35s are expected to arrive in Israel on Friday, increasing the fleet of Adir stealth fighter jets to 33.
Considered to be one of the world’s most advanced fighter jets, Israel has acquired a total of 50 of the F35 aircraft, the remainder of which are scheduled for delivery by December 2024.
The Israeli Air Force’s second squadron of F35 “Adir” fighter jets, named “Lions of the South” became operational in August 2020, following the inauguration of the first squadron of the stealth fighter aircraft, “Joint Strike Fighter” squadron, in December 2017.
It was the first fleet of F35 combat planes to be declared operation outside of the United States, preceded only by the US Marine Corps and the US Air Force.
