Israeli Defense Forces have agreed to buy at least 50 of the pricey jets. So far just seven of the jets have been delivered to the client.
IDF expects to field its first squadron of the fifth-generation jets in December as aging F-16s are phased out.
Israel is the only US partner “allowed to install customized software and weapons” on the F-35s, Wired reported last May.
Italy, the Netherlands, US, UK, Australia, Norway, Israel, and Japan are the only nations with pilots trained to fly and maintain the jets, according to Lockheed Martin’s corporate site.
