Israel has approved the acquisition of additional F-35I Adir and F-15IA fighter squadrons for the Israeli Air Force, moving forward with a major long-term modernization effort aimed at expanding the country’s air combat fleet and strengthening the capabilities of the Israel Defense Forces. The plan covers 50 new combat aircraft and represents one of the most significant Israeli airpower procurement decisions in recent years.
The decision was cleared by Israel’s Ministerial Procurement Committee, according to the Ministry of Defense. The package includes a new squadron of Lockheed Martin F-35I Adir stealth fighters and a new squadron of Boeing F-15IA fighter-bombers, which would eventually bring the Israeli Air Force to four F-35I squadrons and two F-15IA squadrons.
Israeli defense officials said the agreements, valued at tens of billions of shekels, cover not only the aircraft themselves but also their full integration into the Israeli Air Force, along with maintenance, spare parts, and logistical support. The approval is being framed in Israel as the first stage of a broader force-building plan intended to reinforce the IDF’s operational readiness over the coming decades.
The F-35I Adir has already become a central asset in Israel’s air campaign architecture. The Israeli Air Force has continued receiving aircraft from its original 50-unit fleet, while the stealth fighter has played a prominent role in recent operations against Iran and Syria, particularly in missions linked to air superiority and strikes against high-value targets.
Israel is also preparing to receive aircraft for its third F-35I squadron, with deliveries expected to begin in 2028. That previous batch was contracted in June 2024 under a deal worth approximately $3 billion, financed through the U.S. Foreign Military Sales framework.
The latest approval would further deepen Israel’s fifth-generation combat aviation capabilities, while also expanding the service’s heavy strike capacity through the F-15IA. The new F-15IA squadron will follow the first 25 aircraft ordered in November 2024, bringing the planned Israeli fleet of this variant to 50 aircraft.
That earlier F-15IA agreement was valued at $5.2 billion, with the first aircraft scheduled to arrive in Israel in 2031. Deliveries are expected to proceed gradually, at a rate of roughly four to six aircraft per year. At the time, Washington had authorized the sale of up to 50 F-15IA fighters, along with modernization kits for Israel’s older F-15I Ra’am aircraft.
The Boeing F-15IA is the Israeli configuration of the F-15EX Eagle II, the newest evolution of the F-15 Eagle family. The aircraft brings major upgrades over earlier variants, including the AN/APG-82(V)1 AESA radar and the AN/ALQ-250 Eagle Passive Active Warning Survivability System (EPAWSS), among other enhancements designed to improve survivability, situational awareness, and strike performance.
The decision also comes as the F-15EX program gains renewed momentum in the United States. The U.S. Air Force has recently outlined plans to expand its own Eagle II fleet, with the potential acquisition of 267 aircraft, reinforcing the platform’s role as a high-capacity strike and air superiority asset alongside fifth-generation fighters.
For Israel, the combination of additional F-35I Adir stealth fighters and F-15IA fighter-bombers will provide a broader mix of low-observable penetration capabilities, long-range strike capacity, and heavy weapons carriage. Together, both aircraft types are expected to shape the future structure of the Israeli Air Force as it prepares for increasingly complex regional threat scenarios.
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