Kyle Mizokami
For fifty years, the United States has provided top-of-the-line fighter aircraft to help defend Israel from attack. Israel’s fielding of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, known locally as Adir, continues that tradition even as the country puts its own technological touch on the fifth-generation fighter. Unlike other F-35 customers, Israel is modifying its fighters from the outset to address unique security challenges and the country’s technological capabilities.
The United States began sending first-line fighters to Israel in the late 1960s, when the F-4E Phantom II joined the Israeli Air Force.
http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/why-israels-stealth-f-35i-truly-one-kind-22942
