Israel introduced the maiden flight and imminent supply of the brand new KC-46 “Gideon” tanker, a day after the announcement of the procurement of a further squadron of F-35Is and certainly one of F-15IAs.
The Israeli Ministry of Protection has introduced on Could 4, 2026, the maiden flight within the U.S. of its new KC-46 tanker. The tanker, which might be designated as “Gideon” by the Israeli navy, is ready to be delivered in roughly a month, in accordance with a press release on LinkedIn.
The plane is the primary of six KC-46s which can be being procured by Israel. The assertion additional mentions that the tanker “might be geared up with Israeli methods and tailored to the operational necessities of the Israeli Air Pressure, enabling it to increase operational vary and keep air superiority throughout all theaters.”
That is in step with Israel’s coverage of closely customizing platforms procured overseas with methods produced by its personal protection trade. Notably, Israel is the one operator that has been granted the permission to change the F-35 Lightning II, which resulted within the F-35I Adir.
The announcement comes a day after the Israeli MoD mentioned the Ministerial Committee on Procurement authorised the acquisition of two further fighter squadrons. These might be divided in a F-35 squadron (the fourth general) and an F-15IA squadron (the second).
“The offers, valued at tens of billions of NIS, embrace full fleet integration into the Israeli Air Pressure, complete sustainment, spare components, and logistics help,” mentioned a press release. ”This is step one in executing the IDF’s decade-long pressure buildup plan, authorised by the Prime Minister and Protection Minister below a devoted 350-billion-NIS price range.”
Following the approval, the MoD will now transfer ahead to finalize the agreements with the U.S., which is able to see the plane acquired by the Overseas Navy Sale (FMS) path. Whereas the variety of the plane has not been talked about, latest acquisitions – together with the primary F-15IA squadron – noticed Israel procure 25 plane for every squadron.
KC-46 for Israel
The U.S. State Division authorised a Overseas Navy Sale (FMS) of the KC-46 Pegasus tanker to Israel in 2020. The approval included as much as eight tankers for an estimated worth of $2.4 billion.
In 2021, the Israeli authorities authorised the acquisition, clearing the best way for the negotiations. A 12 months later, Boeing was awarded a contract value $930 million for the primary 4 KC-46s, with deliveries anticipated by 2026.
Reviews in 2025 talked about that Israel was trying to improve the order, and thus two extra KC-46 had been procured. At this stage, it’s unclear if the KC-46 might be additional elevated or it’ll stay at six airframes.
The KC-46 will substitute Israel Boeing 707 “Re’em” tankers which have been working for round 60 years. Based on obtainable data, six 707s are at present in service with the Israeli Air Pressure, making the KC-46 acquisition a one-for-one alternative.
The F-15IA
The sale of the latest F-15 variant to Israel has been reported within the making for lengthy. The Israeli authorities already confirmed curiosity within the F-15EX in 2020, when buying extra F-35s and F-15s was put among the many prime priorities.
Initially solely 25 plane had been requested, though it was reported that they might be elevated to 50. The sale of the MLU modification kits was additionally anticipated, as Israel requested the improve of its 25 F-15I Ra’am to an avionic configuration much like the F-15EX.
The Israeli Ministry of Protection despatched an official Letter of Request to the USA authorities in 2023, describing a necessity for 25 airframes. In 2024, the FMS was authorised, with the plane named as F-15IA (Israel Superior).
On the time, the DSCA discover talked about that Israel requested the sale of as much as 50 F-15IA, along with 25 MLU modification kits. Ultimately, in December 2025, Israel signed a contract value as much as $8.5 billion to amass 25 plane.
The deliveries, in accordance with Israel, had been deliberate to start out in 2031, with the contract discover now mentioning the work is to be accomplished by 2035. It’s unclear if Israel has nonetheless intention to acquire the MLU kits at a later date, since they weren’t included within the contract.
Following the latest approval by the Israeli Ministerial Committee on Procurement, Israel will now work to amass the remaining 25 plane that had been included within the FMS, bringing the fleet’s complete to 50 F-15IAs.
The F-35I
Israel has an extended historical past with the F-35, changing into the primary operator to signal a Letter of Settlement for the FMS in 2010. On the time, the federal government acquired 50 plane, which geared up two squadrons at Nevatim AB (Air Base), within the Negev Desert, ranging from 2016.
The FMS included an choice for 25 extra plane, whose procurement was later authorised in 2023 for $3 billion. The deliveries of those plane are anticipated to start out in in 2027, though some reviews point out this might need been delayed to 2028.
With the latest approval, Israel is now set to additional improve its F-35 fleet to 100 plane. For the reason that preliminary FMS included as much as 75 plane, it’s possible that Israel should look ahead to the approval of a brand new FMS first.
As talked about in our earlier reporting, Israel has modified its F-35s, now designated as F-35Is. The truth is, the IAF has at all times built-in its personal weapons and methods (particularly EW methods) on its foreign-built plane to fulfill the nation’s operational wants.
The total extent of the modifications is unclear, however they’re identified to incorporate an improved Digital Warfare suite and different Israeli categorised methods. Nevertheless, with the F-35I the IAF doesn’t have entry to every thing, as occurs for the opposite international locations, thus the U.S. might need imposed a restrict on the modifications that Israel could be allowed to make.
