Israel will acquire 25 Lockheed Martin fifth-generation F-35 stealth fighters and the Israeli Air Force will expand its fleet to 75 of these advanced stealth aircraft. The delivery of the aircraft to the IDF will commence in 2028 at a rate of three to five aircraft per year. The transaction is valued at approximately USD 3 billion, funded by U.S. Foreign Military Financing (FMF).
Seventy-four Israeli companies were supposed to exhibit at the Eurosatory defence exhibition on the outskirts of Paris, later this month, before they were banned after French President Emmanuel Macron called for Israeli attacks on Rafah to stop. Israeli stands were empty at the Dubai Airshow held last November, shortly after the October 7th attack by Hamas. But they were back on display at the Singapore Airshow held last February.
Israeli soldiers in the West Bank threatened and detained a team of journalists from the German public broadcaster ARD, the network reported on Sunday evening. The soldiers behaved extremely aggressively towards the journalists and weapons were aimed into the team’s vehicle on several occasions, ARD said. Bavarian Rundfunk, the ARD member station that operates the network’s Tel Aviv studio, described the incident as an attack on press freedom.
Israel has two objectives: dismantling of the Hamas regime in Gaza and safe recovery of the hostages abducted on Saturday. Israel will have to prioritise between the two because it is doubtful if both objectives can be pursued and achieved at the same time.
The Director General of the Israeli Ministry of Defense, Brigadier General Pinchas Buchris is to arrive in India on Monday to hold meetings on Tuesday with officials from the Indian Ministry of Defense and security establishment.
