TEL AVIV: Israel is the first country to have used the US-made F-35 stealth fighter in combat, the Israeli air force chief said on Tuesday in remarks carried by the military’s official Twitter account.
Local media further quoted Major-General Amikam Norkin as saying in a speech to the chiefs of 20 foreign air forces convening in Israel: “We are flying the F-35 all over the Middle East and have already attacked twice on two different fronts”.
Norkin also displayed a photograph of an Israeli F-35 overflying Beirut, local media said.
Manufactured by Lockheed Martin Corp, the F-35 is also known as the Joint Strike Fighter and, in Israel, by its Hebrew name “Adir” (Mighty).Israel was the first country outside the United States to acquire the F-35. In December 2016, it received the first two planes out of an order of 50. — AFP
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