Long term planning for Israel’s survival require it to build its own fighter jets
It’s astounding that it took this long — 77 years — for Israel to realize that its national security requires it to produce more of its own munitions.
It is even more astounding that Israel has no plans to plug a far more serious hole in its military independence.
The future of Israel’s security has to be considered not in terms of years or even a decade or two.
If the Jewish state is to survive, it is necessary to prepare for 25 and 50 years hence.
Israel’s long-term security requires a major readjustment in thinking, in investment, and in technical training and production.
Israel’s long-term security is guaranteed not by big aid packages from the US. That’s because most of this aid is actually spent in the US on the production of munitions and weapons that are produced in the US, then shipped to Israel.
Right now, Israel’s military security is dependent on a country outside of Israel. It’s that blunt.
Israel’s long-term security is also not guaranteed by a radical increase in Israel’s production of its own munitions, though this is essential.
What a rude awakening when President Biden slow walked critical munitions to Israel in the summer of 2024.
More rude awakenings followed: Democratic congresspeople advocating an arms supply cut-off to Israel. This was never heard before. It is still not heard in a majority of Democratic circles. But a seed, inherently disturbing, is there.
And it is not only Democrats. Republicans have not gone so far as to advocate an arms cutoff to Israel, but there is a drop-off in support for Israel among Republicans, thanks, at least in part, to voices such as Tucker Carlson’s.
Israel has always thought that the US-Israel military, political and strategic partnership is eternal.
Not a wise strategic assumption.
Especially given that the most critical piece in Israel military security is fighter jets. Without them, Iran would have launched its bombs on Israel long ago; and without them, Hamas would have carried its atrocities into Israel far, far deeper than it did two years ago, on Oct. 7, 2023; and Hezbollah would still be threatening Israel daily.
Right now, simply put, Israel has no fighter jet that is not produced in the US. These sophisticated weapons may be customized to suit Israeli needs, may be updated steadily, may be operated with greater skill than by any other fighting force in the world, but the bottom line remains: They all come from the US.
They all spell: military dependency.
There are many varieties of the advanced F-35, and the F-16s remain as a backbone — but none are produced by Israel.
In November, 2024, Israel signed an agreement with the US to purchase additional F-35s.
Who knows whether the political winds and galloping anti-Semitism in the US will allow another such agreement years hence, when it becomes necessary?
Back in the 1980s a vigorous debate animated Israeli military and political circles: Should Israel build its own fighter plane? The project was eventually cancelled due to the financial scope of the project.
It is not too late to compensate for that pivotal error.
Even though it takes a far larger financial investment to build a contemporary F-35 than it would have taken to build the fourth-generation Lavi back in the 1980s, Israel has no choice but to start this critical project, difficult though it is.
No choice, that is, if Israel looks, as it must, very long-term. Israel is the eternal home of the Jewish people. Eternity must focus the Israeli mind.
Simply put, no matter how many munitions, drones, sensors, avionic systems and tanks Israel can build and finance by itself, these alone will not secure Israel. This is black-and-white. This is bottom line. Without its own Israeli-designed and Israel-built fighter jets and fuel-refueling planes, Israel’s security is at severe risk, if not undermined altogether.
In 1968, France did not deliver 50 Dassault Mirage jets that Israel had already paid for. France got angry. That was it. End of delivery of Mirage jets. Israel eventually figured out how to get around the broken contract, but that is no strategy for long-term survival.
Same thing could happen one day with the US. US gets angry. End of delivery.
We hope this never happens, and right now it doesn’t look like it will happen. But it could happen, and there are signs that it might happen — signs that once were deemed impossible. But these signs are now occuring, and cannot be ignored or wished away.
Even if the US were only to deny Israel the necessary technological upgrades to the fighter jets that Israel already has, that would sooner or later put Israel in a weak position relative to air forces of other, hostile countries in the region.
Will it take a decade, two decades, three decades for Israel to design, finance and produce its own fighter jets? No doubt, it’s daunting task on many levels —politicial, military, financial, diplomatic.
Let the steep cost and learning curve not deter this project. It is essential to Israel’s very life.
Israel’s population has spiked since the 1980s. Israel’s technological prowess has spiked. Israel’s knowledge of what it needs in fighter jets and refueling plans has spiked. Let “Challenge 2050” begin!
© IJN 2025
