The Israeli Air Force took one of its new F-35 fighter jets for its first Israeli flight today, the IDF says.
With the maiden flight, Lt. Col. Yotam, commander of the F-35’s “Golden Eagle” squadron, becomes the first Israeli pilot to try out the fifth generation stealth fighter. For security reasons, Yotam’s last name cannot be published.
There is no word on how it handled.
Earlier, a specially trained maintenance team had checked the new F-35 fighter jets’ systems, before it was handed off to the “Golden Eagle” pilots.
An F-35 fighter jet, after landing in the Nevatim Air Force Base in southern Israel on December 12, 2016. (AFP PHOTO / Jack GUEZ)
On Monday night, the first two F-35 fighter jets touched down in Israel. They are the first out of 50 that Israel has decided to purchase from Lockheed-Martin.
They were flown from the factory in Fort Worth, Texas, to the Nevatim air base in the Negev desert by American pilots.
— Judah Ari Gross
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you, David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, December 13, 2016
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
