The Israel / Palestine Thread

Turks making parts were a portion of the deal, but they didn't make anything to my knowledge. A nation making portions of their aircraft isn't unusal.

I can't find a source that says the Turks had an airframe. Maybe there were mockups or airframes with Turk markings, but they never took delivery of an operational aircraft and if they did, they are in US hands now. Turkey possess ZERO F-35's as of this writing.
 
Of us?

I must have missed a memo.

They're our largest export market in the ME (nearly $12b), they aren't very tight with Iran, but maintain relations, and we've had a permanent military presence there for nearly 30 decades. Also, they're more of the pro-KSA side of the regional geopolitics.

When I worked at a COCOM JIOC, I saw value in our friendship. I'll leave it at that.

They're pragmatic. And I'm comfortable with them having F-35s. Especially since this peace deal Iran said they're an easy, legitimate target. It would be a shame if those Iranian F-14s ran into the UAE's F-35s..
 
Great post minus...
seems legit doctor who GIF
 
Just outta curiosity, is there any possibility that the UAE can distribute that tech to our adversaries or renege on peace in the middle east? This is me spitballing, but I wonder how they'll behave when they have stealth aircraft in their inventory. Maybe I'm being paranoid, but I'm thinking the Arab world is playing nice to get their hands on F-35 tech.

Some of the Middle Easts biggest energy market customers are in Asia. What's to stop them from taking that tech and using it to push us and our allies out of the region, while strengthening ties with China?

Reneging is always a possibility. but it seems unlikely as long as 1) Iran keeps being Iran, 2) the US keeps being the US, and 3) there's money to be made with Israel. At the end of the day, no nation can fully trust any other nation, but we can generally trust that nations will act in their own self interests. It is very much in UAE's--and many other countries'--interests to make peace with Israel. If that took F-35s, then I think we as a nation will be OK with that, especially since we're probably already working on fielding the next generation of stealth fighters and bombers.

What allies do you foresee tiny UAE "push(ing) out of the region," F-35s or not?
 
Reneging is always a possibility. but it seems unlikely as long as 1) Iran keeps being Iran, 2) the US keeps being the US, and 3) there's money to be made with Israel. At the end of the day, no nation can fully trust any other nation, but we can generally trust that nations will act in their own self interests. It is very much in UAE's--and many other countries'--interests to make peace with Israel. If that took F-35s, then I think we as a nation will be OK with that, especially since we're probably already working on fielding the next generation of stealth fighters and bombers.

What allies do you foresee tiny UAE "push(ing) out of the region," F-35s or not?
By itself I don't think the UAE would be a future threat. When boogeymen like Iran and Pakistan are quelled though, I think that a Gulf Nation with the right technological edge could essentially unite a fractured Middle East. Hence my concern.

We've essentially been building up the Middle East, not just militarily, but with knowledge and personnel. I just wonder how long will it be before they can become self sufficient and use the technology and lessons learned to become their own regional powerhouse. With or without us.
 
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If this is the linchpin of your argument or concern, then you have none. We will no more do anything about PK than Canada will do about its moose problem. Iran...that will take extraordinary circumstances to fully address.
Took me a bit to think about this. I don't know about Iran and Pakistan being as monolithic as they're made out to be. If their adversaries are armed with cutting edge US tech, who aren't constrained by neutered US policy makers, I can see things in the ME taking a very different turn.
 
F-35's? Nah, son, the UAE's reaching for the stars and if it makes it past Congress (a big IF), these boys are going to be loaded for bear.

Here's Exactly What's In America's Massive Advanced Weapons Deal With The UAE

After weeks of reports that the U.S. government has been planning to sign off on the possible sale of various aircraft, including F-35 Joint Strike Fighters and MQ-9B drones, as well as other weapons and military equipment, to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), it has now formally approved three major proposed arms deals. These packages include up to 50 F-35As, 18 MQ-9Bs, and a multitude of air-delivered munitions, such as stealthy AGM-154E Joint Stand-Off Weapon-Extended Range cruise missiles, as well as other ancillary items, all valued at nearly $23.4 billion in total.

If you read the article, the UAE wants something like 4,000 "dumb" bombs in various sizes plus JDAM conversion kits.

Now we just need our dumbass Congress to get on board.
 
Good score for "Israeli Mossad."

I do recall reading his file in the West Point CTC Sentinel last year. AQ has taken a lot of hits over the last four years.
 
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