In mid-December 2022, an F-35 aircraft crashed in the US, leading both America and Israel to ground a significant portion of their F-35 fleets.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Sunday submitted an official Letter of Request (LOR) to the US and to Lockheed Martin for the purchase of a third squadron of 25 F-35 aircraft, which will eventually bring Israel’s total complement to 75 aircraft.
The LOR was submitted to the US’s Joint Program Office (JPO) after an announcement on July 2 that Israel had internally approved seeking the additional 25 F-35 aircraft and would now start working on eventually submitting an LOR, culminating in Sunday’s announcement.








