Israel boasts of world’s first use of F-35 stealth fighter in combat

ISRAEL says it has become the first country in the world to carry out combat air strikes with the new F-35 stealth fighter, the advanced warplane that will soon be used by the RAF and other air forces around the world.

“We have performed the first opera- tional F-35 strike in the world. We attacked twice in the Middle East using the F-35,” Major General Amikam Norkin, the head of the Israeli air force, said in a briefing to foreign air force officers yesterday.

Maj Gen Norkin did not say where the F-35s had been used, but Israel has carried out repeated strikes in Syria in the past three years. It has also hit Hizbollah targets in southern Lebanon.

Maj Gen Norkin showed the foreign officers a photograph of an Israeli F-35 over Beirut, in what was widely seen as a warning to Hizbollah about Israel’s ability to carry out strikes in Lebanon.

The F-35s are being produced primarily for the US military but they will eventually be used by armed forces across the globe, including in Britain, Australia and Japan. The UK has committed to purchasing 138, and has so far bought 48 jets at a cost of £9.1billion.

The Daily Telegraph revealed last week that the Government is reconsidering its pledge to purchase the remaining 90 American stealth fighters because of their vast cost, at £190million a unit. The Ministry of Defence is reportedly thinking of buying European-made Eurofighter Typhoons, which are roughly half the cost.

A decision to go back on the F-35 purchases could spark a major row between the UK and the Trump administration, which has made a priority of selling US weapons to American allies.

British pilots are currently testing and training in 15 F-35s in the US before they start flying to the UK in June. They have not yet been deployed in combat by the RAF or the Royal Navy.

 Russia has denied claims that its new nuclear-powered cruise missile crashed repeatedly during testing and flew only 22 miles. The missile was one of a range of “invincible” nuclear weapons unveiled by Vladimir Putin in March. He said: “Since its range is unlimited, it can manoeuvre as long as you want. For now, no one in the world has anything like this.”

Sources told CNBC that four tests of the missile between last November and February all ended in crashes. When asked about the reports, Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, said: “Listen to the president of Russia, and believe him.”