Israel Is Enhancing Its Air Force’s Ability To Strike Iran.
Israel is once again warning that it may have no choice but to preemptively attack Iran’s nuclear facilities to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons. And its air force is becoming more capable of executing such a challenging mission.
In late April, Israeli Intelligence Minister Eli Cohen warned that a “bad” nuclear deal between the United States and Iran “will send the region spiralling into war.”
“Anyone seeking short-term benefits should be mindful of the longer-term,” he said. “Israel will not allow Iran to attain nuclear arms. Iran has no immunity anywhere.
In 2019, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that Israel’s F-35s “can reach any place in the Middle East, including Iran, and of course also Syria.”
However, the F-35’s approximate range is 650 miles when armed, which is insufficient for a round trip from Israel to Iran’s nuclear sites.
Therefore, these fighters would need to be accompanied by tanker aircraft for mid-air refuelling, especially if they are operating from Israeli airbases rather than from another country much closer to Iran.
Israel is already addressing this problem by developing external fuel tanks that will almost double the combat radius of its F-35s, making them capable of longer-range missions.