Boeing CEO visits Israel, one month after defense ministry requests to purchase F-15EX fighter jets
Following Israel’s official request to the United States last month to buy 25 F-15EX fighter jets, the CEO of Boeing Defense, Space and Security, visited Israel on Sunday.
Boeing CEO Ted Colbert said his visit to Israel will help to make “sure that it is absolutely, positively clear that we remain committed to serving Israel…We are expressing how Boeing can continue to move forward” to best support Israel’s attack and defense capabilities.
Boeing, the world’s largest aerospace company, manufactures F-15EX jets that can be loaded with numerous heavy-weapon systems capable of hitting Iranian nuclear sites buried deep underground.
“We are using the latest software and engineering techniques to take a brand that existed for 50 years [the old F-15I Israel currently uses], and take it to the next level using open architecture, payload and range,” said Colbert.
Israel’s purchase of the jets was delayed because of the political uncertainty created by five general elections in less than four years.
Colbert could not name a specific date for when Israel will receive the new jets.
“We are working very closely with the U.S. government, working with the Israeli government to deliver the capabilities as fast as we can. But it’s not my decision how that works. Our team is working very hard in factories to meet all the commitments we have agreed to,” Colbert said.
Unnamed sources have previously said that Israel is unlikely to receive the requested jets before 2028. Israel sees the acquisition as urgent, amid deepening defense ties between Iran and Russia. Israel is concerned that Russia might supply Iran with the advanced S-400 anti-aircraft defense system.
When Colbert was asked how the new jets will cope with Iran’s S-300 anti-aircraft system and the more advanced S-400 anti-aircraft defense systems, he responded vaguely that from an “air dominance perspective, it has the ability to carry out any mission it would be required for.”
The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.
