“Supersonic launch of internal weapons, including maximum-speed (Mach 1.6) launch of internal air-to-air missiles, is a feature of all F-35s.”

http://www.lockheedmartin.com/news/press_releases/2010/101420ae_f35A_AF-2_1st-flight.html

Of course, this is unverified atm (no F-35 has flown Mach 1.6 yet), but the aircraft is still in the early stages of flight test. It is an important milestone however. The F/A-18E/F had a nasty surprise when flight test revealed weapons separation issues, which necessitated a redesign of the pylons – resulting in increased drag and reduced range.

F-35B questioned

Tactical Aviation’s Existential Debate: To Hover or Not to Hover?
September 2010
By Sandra I. Erwin

http://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/archive/2010/September/Pages/TacticalAviationsExistentialDebate.aspx?PF=1&PF=1

More F-35I

http://defense-update.com/features/2010/august/f-35i_15082010.html#more

Israeli F-35I flyaway at $96m

“The Israeli purchase of 20 Lockheed Martin Joint Strike Fighters, to be designated F-35I, comes with an integral support package, sustaining the aircraft through its service life for $2.75 billion total.

Israel will get the F-35I at a flyaway cost of $96 million, slightly above the estimated average $92.5 figure predicted by the Pentagon. This cost reflects the inclusion of specific Israeli systems. More indigenous systems to be included in future batches could further increase the cost of the F-35I.

The cost cited by the Israel Ministry of Defense reflects $150 million cost per aircraft, inclusive with the acquisition of necessary infrastructure, training, logistics and support.”

Source: ARES/Eshel http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/blogs/defense/index.jsp?plckController=Blog&plckScript=blogScript&plckElementId=blogDest&plckBlogPage=BlogViewPost&plckPostId=Blog:27ec4a53-dcc8-42d0-bd3a-01329aef79a7Post:18a18f8a-fd16-4ba0-9b95-f024515578a8

well they have made up their minds and the f-35 is it, no super hornets
if he had access to why they decided that about the f-35, he could probably say “sweet” no wonder they did

The Air Force had their mind made up when they strove to purchase 750 F-22’s, but that decision proved to be unsustainable in fiscal terms and unsupportable in the current political environment. The point is that circumstances surrounding a decision change over time, whether we like it or not. Having viable options, like the F/A-18F, is good.

So according to that article Israel gets 20 F-35 for free, but to “sweeten the terms of the deal” Lockheed promises to buy more Israeli made components for the aircraft from now on? Gosh, the Israelis sure are good/tougth negotiators! :confused:

Yup. Jobs program for IAI. An Israeli company already produces tailplanes for F-15E’s. (K,I,S,SK)

your link doesnt work, but israel does get aid from usa, what they buy from usa is up to them, as history shows

Odd – it works for me, from the link in my post on this forum. The title of the article is:

“Israel Places Order For 20 F-35s; U.S. Picks Up The Tab”

published on the Defense Tech blog.

I’d like to see the contract for the LRIP 4 F-35’s. Sure is taking a long time to finalize the details.