Israel Chafes Over JSF: Israel may be on the verge of dropping the Joint Strike Fighter. Associated Press news service reports that the problem is the Israeli desire to be able to modify the new fighters. It has planned to purchase 100 JSFs, but it wants to apply upgrades, using its own technology, as it has done in the past with other US military aircraft, such as the F-15s and F-16s it has purchased. According to AP’s sources, the issue boils down to whether Israeli companies or American companies get the money. Remember that Israel was briefly frozen out of the project last year due to a dispute over Chinese arms sales.
A half-dozen pilots from one of the Air Force’s premier F-16 units, the 20th Fighter Wing at Shaw Air Force Base, S.C., have been awarded one of the service’s highest decorations for their role in Operation Midnight Hammer, the June 2025 strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities.