A delivery in this timeframe could prove highly significant since it coincides with the highest tensions between Israel and the Islamic Republic since the latter’s inception.
Israel has 36 F-35s. You can argue about the cost efficiency of the design if you want, but the actual result will be a bunch of dead SU-35s, not a fight between roughly equivalent Gen 4 fighters.
Also, just saying, the American Generation 4.5 was the F-18, not the F-16. The F-16s were originally designed in 1976 (and America didn’t sell the F-18s to everyone, while the F-16 is still arguably America’s main fighter export)
The Super Hornets in particular are noted for being an actual 4.5 frame, sharing a lot of design features that would come to distinguish genuine Gen 5 fighters.
Only Australia and Kuwait, for some reason, were allowed to buy those sexy beasts.
Fair enough! There’s no getting around the fact that the Hornets can load up a lot more ordinance and has better avionics just from being a bigger frame with more thrust, but the F-16s do have a baseline speed and maneuvering advantage.
The issue with Israel isn’t the quality of their weapons and munitions. It’s the quantity. This article explains how they don’t have many fighter pilots
Israel has something like 35000 people in it’s air force. That’s a tiny air force. Most of those people are going to be in some type of support role. The article talks about the most elite squadron being only 40 people. Losing one person is arguably a bigger loss than the plane. After all, doesn’t matter if you have a plane if no one can fly it
Israel has something like 35000 people in it’s air force. That’s a tiny air force.
That’s very relative. While it may seem tiny from US or Chinese POV it’s more than the whole militaries of many European nations even twice as big as Israel.
Oh, that’s interesting, I didn’t know that, but those 40 would be the guys flying the 36 F-35s, you know? They’re just not going to lose that many of them to SU-35S.
And they can protest the Palestinian genocide, because Hamas doesnt have an air force, but if Iran starts sending in bombing missions they’ll be in the air.
Israel has 36 F-35s. You can argue about the cost efficiency of the design if you want, but the actual result will be a bunch of dead SU-35s, not a fight between roughly equivalent Gen 4 fighters.
Also, just saying, the American Generation 4.5 was the F-18, not the F-16. The F-16s were originally designed in 1976 (and America didn’t sell the F-18s to everyone, while the F-16 is still arguably America’s main fighter export)
The Super Hornets in particular are noted for being an actual 4.5 frame, sharing a lot of design features that would come to distinguish genuine Gen 5 fighters.
Only Australia and Kuwait, for some reason, were allowed to buy those sexy beasts.
The F-16s and F-15s have 4.5 versions though. They aren’t stuck in the 1970’s anymore than the F-18 Super is stuck in the 1990’s.
Fair enough! There’s no getting around the fact that the Hornets can load up a lot more ordinance and has better avionics just from being a bigger frame with more thrust, but the F-16s do have a baseline speed and maneuvering advantage.
The issue with Israel isn’t the quality of their weapons and munitions. It’s the quantity.
This article explains how they don’t have many fighter pilots
Israel has something like 35000 people in it’s air force. That’s a tiny air force. Most of those people are going to be in some type of support role. The article talks about the most elite squadron being only 40 people. Losing one person is arguably a bigger loss than the plane. After all, doesn’t matter if you have a plane if no one can fly it
That’s very relative. While it may seem tiny from US or Chinese POV it’s more than the whole militaries of many European nations even twice as big as Israel.
Oh, that’s interesting, I didn’t know that, but those 40 would be the guys flying the 36 F-35s, you know? They’re just not going to lose that many of them to SU-35S.
And they can protest the Palestinian genocide, because Hamas doesnt have an air force, but if Iran starts sending in bombing missions they’ll be in the air.