WASHINGTON — The USA sped capability updates to Israel’s F-35 fighters after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, the highest officer in command of the Joint Strike Fighter program said Tuesday.
Lt. Gen. Michael Schmidt, program executive officer for the F-35, declined to discover to reporters the capabilities sent to Israel within the two-plus months following the attack, noting this system strives to maintain all nations flying the jet supplied with spare parts and capabilities.
But speaking with reporters after a hearing before the House Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces, Schmidt confirmed the improvements rushed to Israel occurred after Hamas’ deadly attack that killed no less than 1,200 people. The Palestinian Health Ministry said greater than 18,000 people have died because of this of subsequent Israeli air and ground attacks within the Gaza Strip.
Bill LaPlante, the U.S. undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, said on the hearing the F-35 program was recently in a position to hurry updated mission data files to a nation in every week or week and a half. Schmidt confirmed after the hearing that LaPlante was referring to Israel.
Mission data files are a “brick,” as LaPlante described them, containing the jet’s memory of threats it would encounter on an operation and other information needed for combat.
The F-35 program “remains to be not where it must be on these mission data files,” LaPlante said. However the recent rapid updating of those files is a superb sign, he added, and the teachings learned from doing so shall be used across this system.
LaPlante said in written remarks that Israel has 35 of its 39 F-35s operating and carrying out missions, with the assistance of a surge in sustainment support to maximise the nation’s aircraft readiness.
The subcommittee’s ,chairman Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Va., said at Tuesday’s hearing the F-35 Joint Program Office “moved at a breakneck speed” to support Israel by accelerating its jets’ weapons capabilities and increasing the flow of spare parts.
Schmidt told lawmakers Israel’s F-35s have performed “absolutely outstanding” in its war to eliminate Hamas, with high rates of aircraft in a position to perform their missions.
“We now have added some capabilities to that airplane in a really short time frame,” he said. “Our team is doing all the things we will to proceed to maneuver the ball forward there.”
Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. He has traveled to the Middle East to cover U.S. Air Force operations.