IAF celebrates arrival of first two F-16I jets

[JohnLocke]

IAF celebrates arrival of first two F-16I jets
by Arieh O'Sullivan - Jerusalem Post
Thursday, February 19, 2004
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The air force on Thursday celebrated the arrival of the first pair of US-made F-16I fighter-bombers, which promise to expand Israel's strategic reach and boost its deterrence.
Ordered when the geopolitical threats against Israel loomed greater than today, the full squadron of 24 jets won't be here until the end of the year and will only become operational gradually. It will take until 2008 for the delivery of the entire package of 102 jets, for a total of four mighty squadrons.
(...)
"This is a magnificent aircraft and is a perfect example of the synergy that comes from the collaboration between our nations," said USAF Col. Timothy Murphy, the US military attache in Tel Aviv. "It is a wonderful combination of United States industrial capacity and Israeli ingenuity... It stands before us today as the newest symbol of the close and continuing relations between our countries and of the US commitment to the defense of Israel."
Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Moshe Ya'alon, a week after visiting the Sachsenhausen concentration camp in Germany, spoke of the contrast between the defenseless Jews of Europe and the might the of the Jewish nation today, represented by the F-16I.
(...)
Israel is paying for the aircraft from the $2.2 billion it receives annually in US military grants. It also provided more than $2b. in purchases from Israeli defense industries.
"The addition of these jets to the air force adds might, deterrence, and capabilities that we did not have previously," Halutz said. "I hope we won't need them....
"Long-range, advanced weaponry, top-of-the-line communication links, and the ability to operate in all weather conditions are only some of the capabilities of the Sufa," Halutz said.
(...)
Pilots are excited not only with the F-16I's weaponry, but its Pratt & Whitney F-100 engine.
"I have flown for years on F-16s, and I thought I'd feel like I was in another F-16," said Maj. Hanan, a deputy squadron commander. "But the moment you have the engines running it is another world. It's a lot stronger and heavier. It's like driving in a new American car compared to a Subaru."
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Read the rest here.

[kalian]

1. Yippee! Better aircraft to bomb those Palestinians....

:eyes:

[Herschel]

2. Marvelous news

Iran beware.

[JohnLocke]

3. This will be a further deterrent to agression from neighboring states.

[Herschel]

4. Indeed

The world is safer.

[Darranar]

5. Don't Israel's nukes already serve that purpose?

[JohnLocke]

6. Yes, but conventional weapons are still needed.

[Darranar]

7. Why?

[JohnLocke]

8. Conventional weapons are much more useful for defense.

[Darranar]

9. I thought we were discussing deterrence?

[JohnLocke]

10. We are.

A strong defense is a good deterrent.

[tinnypriv]

11. So you'd have no problem with Hezbollah stockpiling

Weapons on the border, right?

[JohnLocke]

13. No.

Hezbollah is an illegal NGO that has attacked civilians in the past without provocation, making them a terrorist group.

[tinnypriv]

14. So

Attacking civilians without provocation is okay, so long as it is done by a state?

Note that the current Prime Minister of Israel has done this several times.

Also, note that your definition applies to the (roughly) forerunner Zionist organisations of current political parties in the government of Israel (Herut - Ichud Leumi - National Union), which attacked civlians without provocation.

Did/does that make them terrorist groups? If so, does the fact that the current GOI is packed with former terrorists make any difference to whether or not Hezbollah is entitled to defend itself from attack by it?

If not, why not?

[Aidoneus]

15. that rings hollow

on multiple occasions, Israel attacked civilians on a far far far far far greater scale (if you would like me to drag figures into this, just ask--for while it is something of a macabre exercise, it blows away your argument). We're talking some 30,000 bombs & shells droped in a period of just a week or two, levelling 75% or more of several entire cities.. or in zionistspeak "30,000 terrorist attacks" (this during 2 Labour "dovish" governments, I might add).

By your criteria (which of course hypocritically doesn't apply, but I digress), this makes the IAF & IDF a "terrorist" group--a strong defense by the resistance is a good deterrent against them.

[Darranar]

16. You are missing the point...

no Arab nation will attack Israel, because Israel has nukes.

Whether Israel has 50 or 50 thousand fighter planes, this remains true.

[madrchsod]

12. that reasoning sounds reasonable

but who is the idf going to fight with it`s new jets,its sat guided weapons,it`s advanced tanks and other mech. weapons, nuke subs, and other nuke weapon systems? it`s a good thing that the israeli nation is so economically powerful to afford all these weapon systems and maintain a quality of life for it`s citizens that is the envy of the world. the united states should study the israeli economic model so we to can have a quality of life as good or better than the israeli`s.