*The October 26, 2024 Israeli Air Force 1,000-mile-offensive against Iran – which was one of the more complex air force offensives since WW2 – highlighted Israel as a unique triple A store and battle-tested innovation center for the US defense and aerospace industries, underscoring the superiority of the US-made F-35, F-16 and F-15 in the global market.
*The capabilities of the US combat aircrafts have been demonstrated by the Israeli Air Force, which – more than any other air force – operates in a high intensity manner (over Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Iran) and acts daily in a do-or-die and can-do state of mind, which mandates more innovation and risk-taking, stretching the capabilities of the US-made combat aircraft to new heights. The keen interest by the US Air Force to hold a multitude of joint maneuvers with Israel’s Air Force attests to the added-value derived by the interaction with – and feedback from – the uniquely experienced Israeli combat pilots.
*The game-changing battle tactics employed on October 26, 2024 by Israel’s Air Force have already been shared with the US Air Force, as were the lessons of the ground-breaking June 1982 Israeli Air Force destruction of 20 Soviet-made Syrian surface to air missile batteries, while downing 82 Soviet Migs, which still inspires the US Air Force. The Israeli battle experience has enriched the US battle tactics and training program of US combat pilots, who rarely experience do-or-die type of sorties, improving US military skills and saving American lives. A similar contribution has been made by Israel’s counter-terrorism, special operations and urban warfare battle-experienced units, which systematically interact with their US colleagues.
*Moreover, the US military has been privy to a most advanced level of Command, Control and Communications system (C3), which was developed by Israel’s military, playing a key role in the execution of the October 26, 2024 offensive.
*The more than 100-combat-aircraft-offensive also included US-made aerial refueling tankers and spy planes, as well as radar suppression technologies and drones. It demolished and jammed air defense systems in Syria and Iraq, on the way to striking 20 military targets in Iran, including in Tehran. Thus, disabling Iran’s Russian-made S-300 surface-to-air missile batteries (which is also used by China!), and destroying missile and drone production facilities. All Israeli Air Force US-made planes returned home safely.
*Furthermore, the Israeli Air Force has been a flagship of the US aerospace industries, sharing with the US manufacturers vital operational, maintenance and repair lessons concluded by the Israeli battle-tested laboratory. These lessons – also produced by other branches of the IDF, employing hundreds of US military systems – have been integrated as upgrades into the next generation of the US products, saving the US many years of research and development (which amounts to mega-billions of dollars), enhancing the competitiveness of US products in the global market, generating more exports (additional billions of dollars), and expanding employment (3.5 million people working in the defense and aerospace industries, in addition to the multitude of subcontractors).In fact,Israel’s uniquely intense use of US combat aircraft has helped in solving pivotal glitches (especially in the F-35).
*Israel has evolved into a unique research and development center for the US defense industries, as it has been for some 250 US high tech giants of the commercial industries in the areas of agriculture, medicine, pharmaceuticals, automotive, computer software, electronics, telecommunications, fin tech, Internet, etc. (e.g., John Deere, General Electric, Johnson & Johnson, Texas Instruments, Intel, Nvidia, General Motors, Microsoft, AT&T, IBM, Dell, Google, Facebook, Intuit, etc.).
*The US defense and commercial industries have leveraged Israel’s brain power and innovative and defiance-of-odds spirit, in order to sustain their global lead, yielding a substantial increase in global sales.
*The October 26, 2024 offensive has enhanced Israel’s posture of deterrence in the face of anti-US Shiite terrorism (e.g., Iran’s Ayatollahs and Hezbollah which operate in the Middle East and Latin America) and anti-US Sunni terrorism (e.g., the Moslem Brotherhood, Hamas and the PLO), which are committed to bringing “The Great American Satan” to submission. Israel’s offensive has advanced the stability of all pro-US Arab oil-producing regimes, such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain, as well as the pro-US Jordan, Egypt and Morocco, all of which have the machetes of the Ayatollahs and the Moslem Brotherhood at their throats.
*As stated by General Alexander Haig, who was a Supreme Commander of NATO and a US Secretary of State, and Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, who was Chief of US Naval Operations: Israel is the largest US aircraft carrier, which does not require a single US military personnel on board, cannot be sunk, deployed in a most critical area of the world, and sparing the US the need to manufacture, deploy and maintain a few more real aircraft carriers along with a few ground divisions, which would have cost the US $15bn-$20bn annually.
*The October 26, 2024 Israeli Air Force offensive against Iran’s Ayatollahs highlights the reality of the annual $3.8bn extended to Israel (to purchase US military systems), which does not constitute “foreign aid.” Rather, this is an annual US investment in an immensely grateful Israel, yielding to the US a few hundred percent annual Return-on-Investment (R-o-I). It is the most productive and secure US investment in its unique force and dollar multiplier, underlying the mutually beneficial US-Israel two-way-street.
This article was published at The Ettinger Report
The views expressed in guest columns are not necessarily the views or positions of the CCNS or its members.
