Three new "Adir" (F-35I) fighter jets landed at Nevatim AFB on September 26 and are set to join the Israel Air Force's "Lions of the South" Squadron. The new aircraft will strengthen the fifth-generation fighter division and contribute to the mission of defending Israeli skies.

Follow Air Recognition on Google News at this link

The Israeli Air Force gave the F-35 the Hebrew name Adir, meaning "Mighty One" in Hebrew (Picture source: Israel Air Force)

The "Adir" (F-35I) manufactured by "Lockheed Martin", is a fifth generation multirole stealth fighter jet.

It is equipped with sensor fusion and situation awareness abilities. The fighter is also equipped with signature reduction measures such as its shape and material that provide it with the ability to stealthily evade radar discovery. The F-35 is also equipped with ALIS (Autonomic Logistics Information System) which controls the operational process and includes the mission plan and the communications and maintenance management systems.

The F-35 is the result of the Joint Strike Fighter program, the aircraft's active development program, whose participants include the U.S, UK, Italy, the Netherlands, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Norway and Turkey. Together, these countries established the JPO (Joint Program Office).

Israel became the first country to select the F-35 through the United States government's Foreign Military Sales process when a Letter of Agreement was signed in October 2010. On June 22, 2016, the Israeli Air Force received the first F-35A Adir for Israel at a ceremony at the Fort Worth, Texas, F-35 factory. The Israeli Air Force declared its F-35 fleet operationally capable in December 2017, marking the completion of an intensive integration and training effort conducted at Nevatim AFB, Israel.