Israel to finalize JSF purchase plans

Defense Minister Ehud Barak will chair a key meeting this week during which he is expected to decide whether Israel will buy new stealth fighter jets.

Barak was in Washington late last month for talks with his American counterpart, Robert Gates, that focused on Israeli plans to purchase the fifth-generation F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

While the Pentagon has approved an Israeli request to buy 75 JSFs, Israel plans – as a first stage – to acquire only around 20.

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