News of the impending sale of the F-35 5th generation stealth plane has raised the eyebrows of Israel, but this concern is not a cause for alarm. There is no reason to worry because of the typical quality of equipment and training that the Israeli F-35s have over the Emirati F-35.
Sales of the new F-35s to the Arab Emirate has caused concern for the Israelis who value a military edge over their new Middle Eastern Partners. The offer was under the table by some entities connected to the Trump administration, which had the addition of drones as well for sale to the Arabs since the IAF is key to the U.S. that should have been taken into account before the equipment was offered for sale, much of the issue in keeping with the superiority of Israelis, reported Forbes.
But that's just it- an offer of F-35s to the moneyed UAE. Should the Trump administration move to seal the deal, that will take effect from six to eight years.
By comparison, if the UAE does get any of the stealth planes, it will be Israel that will get the upper hand in using and operating them. In the six-day war, the Israelis won and defeated the Arabs.
According to Israeli Education Minister Yoav Galant, the sale of F-15s to Saudi Arabia was disliked. When it came to equipment, the Americans reserved better equipment for them. For example, the F-15E was sold to Arabs but they got the F-15I variant, noted Israel Hayom.
During the Iranian revolution in 1979, the next regime got their hand on 79 U.S.-built F-14A Tomcat air superiority fighters that were the top fighter then. Had the Shah not been there, it would have been sold.
To assuage Israel about the Saudi F-15s, the units sold had no bomb racks to keep it as an air to air interceptor. This was stressed by President Jimmy Carter in a pledge to Israel.
In the 1980s, the Reagan administration sold AWACS to Saudi Arabia, which concerned Israel that it kept the element of surprise as its key weapon. The AWACs were a hindrance should a Middle Eastern war breaks out.
Another of these sales of military equipment was spy planes and the KE-3 refueling aircraft,which is the most expensive deal than in 2010. In the same year, the Saudis got 84 F-15s and it was worth $60 billion, cited The Guardian.
Included in the sale were F-15 Strike Eagles for Saudi Air Force, which was a custom variant called the F-15 SA (Saudi Advanced had 12 AIM-120 AMRAAM AA missile (air to air). In 2018, this fighter-interceptor had the most missiles loaded on hardpoints.
Israeli F-15IA is slated to replace the older variants they have in service. The F-15IA carries a 13,380-kilo loadout that includes an impressive array of weapons.
Not to be satisfied with their Israeli F-35s, the IAF will tune it to their needs. But, the Emirati F-35s are not likely to get the same treatment.
