The announcement of the "baptism of fire" F-35 Lightning II (in the Israeli version of "Adir" (mighty)) of the Air Force of the Jewish state inspired the expert and journalistic community. Everyone was waiting for the details of this, probably the first combat use, of this most publicized and accompanied by many scandals of the fifth generation aircraft.
Recall that Israel is the very first of the American allies to have adopted this new product, and, accordingly, has accumulated the greatest (except for the United States) experience in operating these machines.
However, no details were given. Where and when the plane was used, what task it performed - all this is covered with darkness. The maximum information that the journalists managed to get from the representatives of the IDF is the statement that "Adir" showed itself from the best side.
All this is happening in accordance with the "policy of no response" proclaimed by the Air Force Commander Major General Amikam Norkin, which means that the press service and officials of the department do not comment, deny and do not confirm various reports about this aircraft.
This approach looks rather strange for a democratic country, to which Israel is claiming the status. This is not about divulging classified information, but citizens should know what their money is spent on. Moreover, information about the F-35 is closed not only to ordinary Israelis, but also to most parliamentarians.
This creates a lot of questions and suspicions. In particular, the media are spreading rumors about the repeated combat use of the aircraft.
In particular, it is reported that the "Adirs" were repeatedly used for terrorist attacks on Syria. Moreover, in October last year, one F-35 was in the course of a pirate raid, allegedly damaged by a missile from the Syrian anti-aircraft gun S-200.
The military's ignorance of all these rumors leads the Israeli public to think that the Adir is not as good as it is reported, and that it is not hiding from it amazing capabilities beyond the aircraft, but numerous flaws in the crude design. And such a desire for confidentiality makes us assume a corruption component in all this.
These suspicions have intensified even more against the background of the corruption scandal played out in the FRG. Recently it became known that the commander of the Luftwaffe, Lieutenant General Karl Müllner, would be fired for lobbying for the purchase of American F-35 fighters by Germany.
Of course, such a formulation of the question and such an organizational solution seem to hint at Mülner's obvious dishonesty.
As is well known, lobbying is by no means selfless. And she, of course, is not compatible with the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force. If we call a spade a spade, in this case the word “lobbyism” is a euphemism for the terms “corruption” and “bribe”.
But, apparently, they are trying to resolve this issue behind the scenes, minimizing its publicity. Therefore, no criminal prosecution has been initiated against the general - he was simply removed from the case, and in May he will be retired ahead of schedule.
Perhaps this was done so delicately so as not to worsen relations with the United States.
German War Minister Ursula von der Leyen rejected Mülner's plans to replace the old Panavia Tornado fighters with F-35s, and decided to re-equip the Luftwaffe with Eurofighter Typhoon fighters. Unnamed sources in the Bundeswehr indicate that this choice was dictated not only by technical claims to the American fighter, but also by considerations of a geopolitical order.
Most likely, this refers to the position of the Council of Bundestag deputies, according to which a complete transition to the F-35 will weaken the European defense industry and put Germany in dependence on the United States.
And these considerations are well founded. The scandal with the commander-in-chief of the Luftwaffe, which did not become the "Müllner affair", clearly shows by what methods the United States is promoting the sale of its weapons to its allies.
Even earlier, the Americans managed to impose financial participation in the JSF program (for the development of the F-35) on such NATO allies as Great Britain, Italy, Denmark, Holland, Canada and Turkey, relying on their "lobbyists" in these countries.
To this we can add that Washington made every effort, using political and economic pressure, as well as banal bribery in order to eliminate potential competition in the development and production of the 5th generation aircraft.
The result is obvious: the Dassault nEUROn concern, which announced the start of work on the creation of a new generation machine, currently boasts only UAVs created with the use of stealth technologies.
The situation is not much better for the Japanese, who, as it were, are also engaged in the creation of a fighter of the latest class.
But work on the ATD-X Shinshin aircraft did not go much further than the prototype airframe. And experts suggest that the plane will not go beyond the technology demonstrator.
However, Japanese designers are trying to save their developments by inviting the Americans to continue working together. This circumstance is also an indirect indication of what prevents the American allies from working on the creation of their own machines of the 5th and 6th generations.
The efforts of the Americans have created such a situation that there is practically no alternative to the F-35 for their allies. After all, they will not buy the J-20 from the Chinese, or the Su-57 from Russia?
The same Eurofighter Typhoon, no matter how good the aircraft is, is still a 4th generation aircraft, and the "ceiling" of its upgrades is 4 ++.
However, it can be assumed that the F-35, in the end, will be brought, eliminating all the flaws - largely at the expense of the allies.
Which, instead of developing their own military-industrial complex, and making money on the sale of its products, are forced to buy "raw" equipment from the Americans and pay for its subsequent modernization.
