US Defense Secretary touches down in Israel ahead of F-35 ceremony

US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter lands in Israel ahead of tomorrow’s reception ceremony for Israel’s new F-35 stealth fighter jets.

He is met at the airport by US Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro and Amos Gilad, director of the Defense Ministry’s Political-Military Affairs Bureau.

On Monday, two F-35 jets will touch down on the runway of the Nevatim Air Base, in southern Israel, becoming the latest acquisition of the Israel Defense Forces — and one of the most expensive, at more than NIS 380 million ($100 million) per plane.

The two planes landing on December 12 will be the first of 50 F-35 jets that Israel has agreed to purchase from Lockheed-Martin.

#SecDef Ash Carter arrived in Israel. He will meet top Israeli officials & take part in the delivery ceremony of Israel’s first two F-35. pic.twitter.com/uKAuxXaIFi

— U.S. Embassy Jerusalem (@usembassyjlm) December 11, 2016

Before the planes arrive, Carter will attend an honor guard ceremony at the army’s Tel Aviv headquarters and meet with Israel’s top brass.

The US secretary of defense will then join Israel’s political and military upper echelon on stage at the F-35 event. He is slated to give a speech at the ceremony and host a press conference afterwards with his counterpart Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman.

Carter’s visit coincides with an around-the-world tour, during which he’s visited Japan, India, Bahrain and — in a surprise addition — Iraq, to visit the US forces there.

The US defense secretary will stay in Israel for one day before moving on to Italy and the United Kingdom, the Pentagon said in a statement earlier this month.