Israel's 5th Generation Fighter
Israel became the first country to select the F-35 through the United States government's Foreign Military Sales (FMS) process when a Letter of Agreement was signed in October 2010.
The Israeli Air Force (IAF) gave the F-35 the Hebrew name Adir, meaning "Mighty One" in Hebrew. On June 22, 2016, the IAF received the first F-35 Adir for Israel. The IAF's F-35 fleet was declared operationally capable in December 2017, marking the completion of an intensive integration and training effort conducted at Nevatim AFB, Israel.
Base Location
Program Milestones
2010: Israel becomes first F-35 FMS
customer
2016: First two F-35 Adir arrive in
Israel
2016: Israel receives
first F-35 Adir
2017: Israeli Air Force
declares F-35 IOC
2016: First flight of Israel's
first F-35
2020: Second Israeli Air Force F-35
squadron stood up