Ambassador (ret.) Yoram Ettinger | “Second Thought: a US-Israel Initiative | September 23, 2026
F-35I Adir. By Source: William LewisDerivative: User:MathKnight – WikiCommons, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link
*Israel’s distinction as the most high-value, low-cost, low (US) footprint, battle-tested, technologically-advanced and unconditional American ally – substantially more significant than the NATO countries, South Korea, Japan and Australia – is underscored by the F-35 combat aircraft program.
*Thus, Israel played a consequential role in the F-35’s evolution from a troubled, over-budget development program – doomed to fail according to top US avionic experts in 2018 – into the flagship fighter of the US Air Force. In fact, since Israel received the F-35, it has emerged as one of the world’s fastest-growing defense exports.
*Israel was the first country to operate the F-35 in combat (in 2018), and the only foreign user granted substantial authority to integrate indigenous software, electronic-warfare systems, weapons, and sustainment solutions. The US manufacturer, Lockheed-Martin, and the US Air Force are aware of the expected benefits derived from the invaluable operational, rapid-testing and validation, maintenance and repair feedback from Israel under a uniquely-intense battle-proven reality. Moreover, the Israeli real-world experience (in close cooperation with Lockheed Martin) – particularly in mission systems, data processing, electronic warfare, weapons integration, maintenance, and fleet availability – identified and resolved most of the technical and mechanical glitches, that might have otherwise required costly testing and redevelopment, and potentially aborting the entire F-35 program.
*Although the precise financial benefits have not been publicly quantified, the Israeli intense combat-proven experience and capabilities saved many years of research and development (equal to billions of dollars, as attested by the F-35 research and development cost – over $60bn). The Israeli knowhow reduced technical risks, accelerated the maturation of the aircraft, strengthened confidence among prospective buyers, and contributed to the F-35’s transformation from a widely criticized program into the centerpiece of US airpower and a multinational mega-billions of dollars export success.
*Hence, the F-35A ($92mn), the F-35C ($110.8mn) and the F-35B ($121.4mn) have been exported to more than 20 countries, including the United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Poland, Finland, Germany, Switzerland, Canada, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Israel, Singapore, Romania, Greece and the Czech Republic. Furthermore, export of the F-35 has experienced a massive surge, culminating in 191 aircraft delivered by Lockheed Martin in 2025, compared to 134 in 2019, making it one of the most widely exported 5th-generation stealth fighters in history. According to Lockheed-Martin, the F-35 backlog (mostly to the US Air Force) was $170bn in 2025.
*Israel has served as the F-35’s unique battle-tested laboratory, research and development center, as it has for the F-16, F-15, the Apache and Black Hawk helicopters, the THAAD and Patriot missile defenses and dozens of additional advanced US military systems). Israel has been a combat-proven showroom and battle tactics innovation center, bolstering the US economy – including expanded employment and increased corporate and individual income tax revenues – as well as enhancing the capabilities of the US Air Force, while extending the life-cycle and export-potency of advanced US military systems (e.g., the 55-year-old F-15 and F-16).
*Israel has contributed to the US defense and aerospace industries – which employ 2.5 million Americans – and to the US Armed Forces the same benefits it has contributed to over 250 commercial high tech giants (e.g., Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Apple, John Deere, Nvidia, Johnson & Johnson, General Electric, etc.), but much more! Israel has played a key role in boosting the global superiority of the US’ commercial and defense technologies.
*Israel provides an unusually densely-challenging innovation ecosystem, facing unique climatic, irrigation, agricultural, economic, health, medical and national security challenges. These challenges have yielded game-changing, ground-breaking developments and applications, which have been leveraged by many of the leading US commercial and defense industries.
*Therefore, in January 2026, the US and Israel announced a strategic framework covering AI, energy, advanced computing, space, semiconductors, and other critical technologies, explicitly linking the relationship to economic growth, job creation, and national security.
*Israel is the US’ most valuable operational partner for evaluating selected air-defense, missile-defense, counterterrorism, urban-warfare, intelligence, and force-protection capabilities under real-world conditions.
*Israel has been a significant node in the US’ determination to bolster its global superiority in the dual-use areas of small and medium-size space satellites, autonomous systems, unmanned aerial vehicles, medical technologies and combat medicine, cybersecurity and AI. Israel has advanced the US’ computing, semiconductors, aerospace and avionics, air and missile defenses, sensors and electro-optics, water and environmental technologies.
*Israel’s demography (facilitating the successful blending of Israeli agents in Muslim countries), geo-strategic location and rare existential challenges and experience, have transformed Israel into the most substantial intelligence partner of the US in the areas of counterterrorism, terror financing and money laundering, counterproliferation and regional/global threats. This partnership has also produced critical data on advanced military systems, manufactured by enemies and rivals of the US, which has uniquely benefitted the US economy and defense, saving American lives abroad and on US soil.
*According to the late Senator Daniel Inouye, who was the Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and the Full Appropriations Committee, the flow of Israeli intelligence to the US exceeded the scope and quality of intelligence provided to the US by all NATO countries combined. Inouye assessed the value of the Israeli-delivered intelligence in billions of dollars.
*Israel provides the US with an unusually high level of annual R-o-I (return on investment) on the $3.8bn, which is exponentially higher than US “foreign aid.”
*Israel provides the US with a second-to-none combat-experienced, reliable forward operating base (irrespective of Left or Right governments, unlike other allies) in a most critical region. In addition to intelligence and defense-technology, Israel has generated tailwind to the US defense and commercial industrial bases. Thus, sustaining US manufacturing, engineering, subcontracting and export capacity – a mega billions of dollars contribution to the US economy.
*Israel constitutes a high-intensity force-multiplier and dollar-multiplier for the US. This Israeli feature has bolstered the US’ posture of deterrence with no US combat boots on the ground, unlike the NATO allies, Japan and South Korea. The latter rely on substantial US combat military bases and mega-billions of US dollars, which is required to maintain these bases, while refraining from flexing their muscles in the face of mutual existential threats.
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