Ambassador (ret.) Yoram Ettinger, “Second Thought: a US-Israel Initiative
September 23, 2026

*Israel’s distinction as the most high-value, low-cost, low (US) footprint, battle-tested, technologically-advanced and unconditional American ally – substantially more significant than the NATO countries, South Korea, Japan and Australia – is underscored by the F-35 combat aircraft program.

*Thus, Israel played a consequential role in the F-35’s evolution from a troubled, over-budget development program – doomed to fail according to top US avionic experts in 2018 – into the flagship fighter of the US Air Force.  In fact, since Israel received the F-35, it has emerged as one of the world’s fastest-growing defense exports.

*Israel was the first country to operate the F-35 in combat (in 2018), and the only foreign user granted substantial authority to integrate indigenous software, electronic-warfare systems, weapons, and sustainment solutions.  The US manufacturer, Lockheed-Martin, and the US Air Force are aware of the expected benefits derived from the invaluable operational, rapid-testing and validation, maintenance and repair feedback from Israel under a uniquely-intense battle-proven reality.  Moreover, the Israeli real-world experience (in close cooperation with Lockheed Martin) – particularly in mission systems, data processing, electronic warfare, weapons integration, maintenance, and fleet availability – identified and resolved most of the technical and mechanical glitches, that might have otherwise required costly testing and redevelopment, and potentially aborting the entire F-35 program.

*Although the precise financial benefits have not been publicly quantified, the Israeli intense combat-proven experience and capabilities saved many years of research and development (equal to billions of dollars, as attested by the F-35 research and development cost – over $60bn). The Israeli knowhow reduced technical risks, accelerated the maturation of the aircraft, strengthened confidence among prospective buyers, and contributed to the F-35’s transformation from a widely criticized program into the centerpiece of US airpower and a multinational mega-billions of dollars export success. 

*Hence, the F-35A ($92mn), the F-35C ($110.8mn) and the F-35B ($121.4mn) have been exported to more than 20 countries, including the United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Poland, Finland, Germany, Switzerland, Canada, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Israel, Singapore, Romania, Greece and the Czech Republic. Furthermore, export of the F-35 has experienced a massive surge, culminating in 191 aircraft delivered by Lockheed Martin in 2025, compared to 134 in 2019, making it one of the most widely exported 5th-generation stealth fighters in history. According to Lockheed-Martin, the F-35 backlog (mostly to the US Air Force) was $170bn in 2025.

*Israel has served as the F-35’s unique battle-tested laboratory, research and development center, as it has for the F-16, F-15, the Apache and Black Hawk helicopters, the THAAD and Patriot missile defenses and dozens of additional advanced US military systems).  Israel has been a combat-proven showroom and battle tactics innovation center, bolstering the US economy – including expanded employment and increased corporate and individual income tax revenues – as well as enhancing the capabilities of the US Air Force, while extending the life-cycle and export-potency of advanced US military systems (e.g., the 55-year-old F-15 and F-16).

*Israel has contributed to the US defense and aerospace industries – which employ 2.5 million Americans – and to the US Armed Forces the same benefits it has contributed to over 250 commercial high tech giants (e.g., Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Apple, John Deere, Nvidia, Johnson & Johnson, General Electric, etc.), but much more!  Israel has played a key role in boosting the global superiority of the US’ commercial and defense technologies. 

*Israel provides an unusually densely-challenging innovation ecosystem, facing unique climatic, irrigation, agricultural, economic, health, medical and national security challenges. These challenges have yielded game-changing, ground-breaking developments and applications, which have been leveraged by many of the leading US commercial and defense industries.

*Therefore, in January 2026, the US and Israel announced a strategic framework covering AI, energy, advanced computing, space, semiconductors, and other critical technologies, explicitly linking the relationship to economic growth, job creation, and national security.

*Israel is the US’ most valuable operational partner for evaluating selected air-defense, missile-defense, counterterrorism, urban-warfare, intelligence, and force-protection capabilities under real-world conditions.

*Israel has been a significant node in the US’ determination to bolster its global superiority in the dual-use areas of small and medium-size space satellites, autonomous systems, unmanned aerial vehicles, medical technologies and combat medicine, cybersecurity and AI.  Israel has advanced the US’ computing, semiconductors, aerospace and avionics, air and missile defenses, sensors and electro-optics, water and environmental technologies.

*Israel’s demography (facilitating the successful blending of Israeli agents in Muslim countries), geo-strategic location and rare existential challenges and experience, have transformed Israel into the most substantial intelligence partner of the US in the areas of counterterrorism, terror financing and money laundering, counterproliferation and regional/global threats. This partnership has also produced critical data on advanced military systems, manufactured by enemies and rivals of the US, which has uniquely benefitted the US economy and defense, saving American lives abroad and on US soil.

*According to the late Senator Daniel Inouye, who was the Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and the Full Appropriations Committee, the flow of Israeli intelligence to the US exceeded the scope and quality of intelligence provided to the US by all NATO countries combined.  Inouye assessed the value of the Israeli-delivered intelligence in billions of dollars.

*Israel provides the US with an unusually high level of annual R-o-I (return on investment) on the $3.8bn, which is exponentially higher than US “foreign aid.”

*Israel provides the US with a second-to-none combat-experienced, reliable forward operating base (irrespective of Left or Right governments, unlike other allies) in a most critical region.  In addition to intelligence and defense-technology, Israel has generated tailwind to the US defense and commercial industrial bases. Thus, sustaining US manufacturing, engineering, subcontracting and export capacity – a mega billions of dollars contribution to the US economy.

*Israel constitutes a high-intensity force-multiplier and dollar-multiplier for the US. This Israeli feature has bolstered the US’ posture of deterrence with no US combat boots on the ground, unlike the NATO allies, Japan and South Korea. The latter rely on substantial US combat military bases and mega-billions of US dollars, which is required to maintain these bases, while refraining from flexing their muscles in the face of mutual existential threats.

Support Appreciated

Ambassador (ret.) Yoram Ettiinger, “Second Thought: a US-Israel Initiative”
August 27, 2026

According to Prof. Walter Russell Mead, a leading historian of US foreign policy, “Israel did not grow strong because it had an American alliance. It acquired an American alliance because it had grown strong.”

*The $3.8bn annual US investment in Israel – misperceived as “foreign aid” – has provided Israel with advanced US-made military systems, bolstering Israel’s performance as the leading force-multiplier for the US (as detailed by the milestones below).

*Israel is the hub of research and development centers of some 250 US high tech giants, which has solidified their global superiority, bolstered US export and expanded US employment.  In addition, Israel has evolved into the biggest, self-manned, largely self-funded and cost-effective, battle-tested “US military base” with no combat US soldiers on the ground. The Israeli factor has amplified the US’ global posture of deterrence and constrained Chinese and Russian regional and global maneuverability, while enabling the US to minimize its military presence in the Middle East, which has never experienced intra-Muslim peaceful coexistence since the 7^th century. It has, also, upgraded the battle tactics of the US Armed Forces (e.g., the US Army’s intellectual center at Ft. Leavenworth, KS is highly impacted by Israel’s war and counter-terrorism experience), dramatically enhanced the productivityof the US’ defense and aerospace industries (e.g., mega-billions of dollars of saving in research and development, increased exports, and growing income tax revenues), and has deterred anti-US Islamic terrorism.

Milestones:

*During the 2025 and 2026 US wars against the Ayatollah regime – which has conducted a 47-year-war on the US irrespective of Israel’s existence – Israel has provided the US with strategic benefits, which no other ally could have provided.  Israel has operated as a technologically sophisticated regional ally, conducting complex intelligence, cyber, and air operations. It has been highlighted by disabling Iran’s air defenses and air force, which has minimized the threat to US soldiers and has reduced the need for US ground forces, enabling the US Air Force to bomb Iran’s three major nuclear facilities, unimpeded by Iran’s military. Israel’s human intelligence (HUMINT) and signals intelligence (SIGINT) networks in Iran have provided CENTCOM and the CIA with critical operational data, reducing the US’ blind spots.

*Israel’s strikes exposed the vulnerabilities of Chinese, Russian and North Korean air defenses, combat aircraft, ballistic missiles and underground fortifications, which are deployed throughout the world.

*By systematically clobbering the Ayatollah proxies, such as Hezbollah, Hamas, Yemen’s Houthis and pro-Iranian terror organizations in Syria and Iraq, Israel has significantly degraded the Ayatollah’s threats to US military installations in the Middle East and reduced the existential threats to all pro-US Arab regimes.

*The 1981 Israeli destruction of Iraq’s nuclear reactor spared the US a potential nuclear confrontation during the 1991 Gulf War. It saved the pro-US oil-producing Arab regimes from the jaws of the pro-Russian Saddam Hussein.

*The 2007 Israeli destruction of the Syria-North Korea-Iran nuclear reactor, spared the region and the globe the consequences of nuclear capabilities in the hands of the pro-Russian “Butcher of Damascus” and a potential nuclearized civil war in Syria. 

*The June 1967 Israeli military victory devastated the Soviet-supplied and Soviet-trained Egyptian military, which aimed to topple all pro-US Arab oil-producing regimes, at a time when the US was heavily dependent on Persian Gulf oil.  Israel’s victory discredited Soviet combat doctrines and equipment, generated vital intelligence on the principal adversary of the US, and spared the US a huge economic and national security setback. It also, denied the USSR a geo-strategic gold mine, and transferred to the US Israeli-captured Soviet military hardware – all at zero cost in US lives or treasure.

*Israel’s 1973 War provided the US real combat data of USSR vs. US military systems (e.g., surface-to-air and anti-tank missiles), supplying the US combat evidence it couldn’t get otherwise. These lessons were fed directly into the development of AirLand Battle doctrine, SEAD (suppression of enemy air defense) tactics, and TOW missile and armor upgrades that enhanced the US defense industries and Army doctrine. Just as in the 1967 precedent, instead of US forces having to fight Soviet-designed systems, in order to learn how they performed, Israel did the fighting and the US studied the results.

*In 1966 and 1989 Israel acquired MIG-21 and MIG-23 Soviet combat planes through defecting Iraqi and Syrian pilots. The planes were shared with the US, impacting the global balance of power, and enhancing the performance of the US Air Force and the US aerospace industry.

*In 1970, while the US was bogged down in Southeast Asia, Israel’s posture of deterrence forced a roll-back of the pro-Soviet Syrian invasion of pro-US Jordan with no exchange of fire. Thus, Israel denied Moscow a critical bonanza,while sparing the US the loss of an Arab ally, which could have triggered the toppling of pro-US oil-producing Arab regimes (when the US was heavily dependent upon Persian Gulf oil).

*Israel’s July 4, 1976 Entebbe Rescue Operation underscored Israel as a role model of pro-active, daring and innovative counter-terrorism, inspiring the US’ Delta Force and other US counter-terrorism forces.  

*Israel’s October 1982 “Operation Mole Cricket 19” was the first time that a Western-equipped air force destroyed a Soviet-built surface-to-air missile network, eradicating 20 leading Soviet surface-to-air missile batteries operated by Syria, which were perceived to be impregnable. The Israeli battle tactics, including electronic warfare technologies, were shared with the US, bolstering its military edge over Moscow, serving (until today) as a cardinal element in the training program of US combat pilots. 

The Bottom Line

*From the Cold War era until today, Israel has functioned as a forward strategic asset for US national security, combat-tested (against Russian, Chinese and Western military systems). Israel has provided a battle-tested laboratory for advanced US military systems, counterterrorism and missile defense testing ground, and intelligence collecting, with no presence of US combat troops.

*Israel has systematically provided the US strategic lessons that would otherwise have required a much greater US military exposure.

*Advancing US-Israel mutual interests in the face of mutual threats and challenges, Israel absorbs the military risk, provides the manpower, the intelligence burden and battlefield experimentation that the US otherwise might have had to undertake itself.

Support Appreciated

Ambassador (ret.) Yoram Ettinger, “Second Thought: a US-Israel Initiative”
July 26, 2026

*The annual US $3.8bn “foreign aid” to Israel – which is earmarked to purchase only US-made military systems – has been framed under a misleading banner: “foreign aid.” To most Americans, “foreign aid” evokes images of charity, one-way transfers, funded by hard-working Americans, serving needs in foreign lands, rather than satisfying dire US domestic needs. That framing is not just imprecise; it is a most consequential misnomer in the US budget.

*Setting the record straight on “foreign aid” to Israel, in particular, and US-Israel relations, in general, behooves one to discard that misnomer. A thorough due-diligence through a clear-eyed balance sheet, documents that the annual $3.8 billion is neither “foreign aid”, nor a handout. It is the  smartest of US investments.

For example:

1.  A professional auditing reveals that the $3.8bn is an annual high-yield investment, which provides the US with an unprecedent Return-on-Investment (R-o-I). Moreover, it serves as an irreplaceable force-multiplier for the US homeland and national security, and a booming dollar-multiplier for the US economy, bolstering US global dominance, economically, militarily and technologically.

2. Israel functions as the largest, real-world, most experienced and most intense battle-tested laboratory for the US defense and aerospace industries, which employ 2.5 million people. Hence, each of the dozens of advanced US military systems, supplied to Israel, benefits from Israel’s unique existential challenges, which stress-test advanced US military systems. This Israeli battle-tested laboratory yields daily lessons and improvements – operations, maintenance, repairs, mechanical and technological – which are promptly shared with the US manufacturers. These lessons are integrated, by the US manufacturers, as modifications and upgrades in the next generation of the US military products. This process saves the US many years of research and development (10-20 years in the case of the F-35, F-16 and F-15 each), which amounts to mega-billion dollars (e.g. the total research and development cost of the F-35 was $55bn).  

3. The Israel-driven upgrades enhance the US competitiveness in the global competition, which generates billions of dollars in US export. Furthermore, Israel constitutes a global “Showroom” and a “Triple-A-Store” for the US defense and aerospace industries, demonstrating the superiority of the advanced US military systems. For instance, when US-made combat aircraft and other defense systems perform flawlessly, in combat, in Israeli hands, global and US demand surges, bolstering the US’ overall production and export, expanding domestic manufacturing employment (e.g., the F-35 related employment has expanded by 35% since 2018, when Israel received the aircraft for operational use), and increasing corporate and individual tax revenues for the US Treasury.

4. Over 250 US commercial high-tech giants – including Intel, Microsoft, Google, John Deere, Nvidia, Facebook, Johnson & Johnson, Dell, Intuit, General Electric and General Motors – operate research and development centers in Israel. These US giants leverage Israel’s can-do, defiance of odds and innovative spirit and brainpower, which bolsters the US technological dominance in the global market.

5. Israel’s intelligence has systematically shared with the US vital data on enemies’ and rivals’ weapon systems, proliferation networks, and operational and pre-emptive counter-terrorism that would otherwise require the output of several CIAs. The annual budget of one CIA is around $15bn (a multiple of 400% R-o-I on the $3.8bn).

6. Israel’s strategic effectiveness has deterred and weakened anti-US rogue entities, tilting the global balance of power in favor of the US. It has been demonstrated – since the Cold War era – by clipping the wings of the anti-US Sunni and Shiite terrorism, constraining the strategic maneuverability of China and Russia/USSR, while identifying the vulnerabilities of their air defenses and combat aircraft, and by enhancing the stability of all pro-US Arab regimes. Israel’s strategic effectiveness has resembled the largest US aircraft carrier, combat-ready, with no US boots on board, deployed in a critical area between the Mediterranean, Red Sea, Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf.  It spares the US the need to manufacture a few more real aircraft carriers, and deploy them to the Indian Ocean and Mediterranean, accompanied by 5-7 ground divisions. Constructing and deploying one advanced aircraft carrier costs $13bn, in addition to the $1bn required for every ground division deployed to the Middle East (a multiple of over 300%).

7. Israel constitutes an innovation center for the US Armed Forces, sharing with the US military counterparts its unique battle experience. This process has upgraded the battle tactics of the US air force, air defenses, special operations, counter-terrorism, urban warfare, naval operations, cyber warfare, combat medical care, etc.

8. While European allies frequently pivot their foreign policy stances and defense cooperation, depending on whether left-leaning or right-leaning coalitions take power, Israel’s commitment to the US is a rare common-denominator in the otherwise highly polarized Israeli society.  Whether governed by the Israeli Left or Right, Jerusalem’s alignment with Washington remains rock-solid. Israel offers something increasingly rare among allies of the US: unwavering Israeli bipartisan reliability.

9. The US maintains its military bases in Western Europe at an annual cost of $35bn annually, including 80,000 American troops.  At the same time,the annual US investment in Israel is $3.8bn with no large stand-alone US military bases, yielding to the US an annual Return-on-Investment of well over 1,000%.

10. The $3.8bn appropriated to Israel annually is not an expense, but a rare, low/no-risk, outsized-yielding investment.  It is a windfall to the US taxpayer, and a most productive line-item in the US budget, underscoring the mutually-beneficial two-way-street US-Israel cooperation.  

Support Appreciated

Ambassador (ret.) Yoram Ettinger, “Second Thought: a US-Israel Initiative”

inFOCUS Magazine, Summer 2026

In the arena of US alliances, no relationship delivers the outsized return for the American taxpayer as does the US-Israel partnership.

Conventional wisdom often frames the annual $3.8BN US credit to Israel (spent on the acquisition of military systems only in the US) as “foreign aid” – a one-way handout, supposedly at the expense of American taxpayers. Formally, it is “foreign aid.” However, due-diligence reveals that this is not aid, but a low/no-risk, high-return investment for the US.

Since 1967, Israel has functioned as Washington’s premier dollar and defense multiplier, the most effective battle-tested laboratory, the most sophisticated commercial and defense research and development center (for over 250 US high tech giants, in addition to the US defense and aerospace industries), a unique source of intelligence for the US, and a geopolitical force-amplifier with no American military bases on its soil.

The Mutually Beneficial Two-Way-Street

In fact, US-Israel cooperation has been mutually beneficial, generating an annual Return-on-Investment (R-o-I) of well over 1,000% on Washington’s “foreign aid” to Israel.  This has yielded the US billions of dollars in research and development savings, bolstered economic output and export, expanded employment, increased tax revenues, boosted technological edge, and enhanced US national and homeland security.   No other ally can deliver such benefits.

At the heart of this multiplier effect lies Israel’s role as a real-time, combat-proven showroom and innovation hub for the US defense and aerospace industries. For example, in 2018, Israel was the first country to receive the F-35 combat aircraft for operational use. At that time, leading US experts considered it a failed program.  

However, by 2019, the combat-experienced Israeli Air Force, together with Lockheed-Martin, had solved most/all of the software/technical and hardware/mechanical glitches. This transformed the F-35 into the flagship of the US Air Force’s future fighter fleet and the premier program of the US aerospace industry. The Israeli experience and resulting upgrades have been shared on a daily basis with the US manufacturer, saving 10-20 years of research and development, which amounts to tens of billions of dollars (the F-35’s total development cost amounts to $55BN).

These battle-tested refinements have dramatically enhanced the aircraft’s reliability, maintainability, electronic warfare capabilities, weapons integration, and survivability.   As a result, since 2019, the uniquely intense use of the F-35 by the Israeli “showroom” has yielded a surge in global demand. Since 2019, more than 1,200 F-35s have been exported to US allies, including Britain, Canada, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Germany, Italy, and others. By late 2025, Lockheed-Martin reported a staggering $173BN–179BN backlog as well and a $72BN in annual US economic output, including $40BN in exports.

Currently, the F-35 project supports 290,000 jobs (a 35% expansion since 2019). It contributes about $3BN in annual corporate and personal income tax revenues to the US Treasury.  This almost completely offsets the $3.8BN annual investment in Israel from this single platform alone.

This role of Israel as a unique dollar and defense multiplier for the US applies to dozens of advanced US military systems, enhancing the fortunes of US defense and aerospace industries, which employ 2.5 million people. For instance, Boeing’s Apache attack helicopter and Lockheed-Martin’s Black Hawk utility helicopter have benefitted from Israel’s intense operational tempo since the 1990s. Israel’s combat use has resulted in upgraded avionics, survivability features (including advanced missile warning, electronic warfare, and countermeasures), and combat networking for the helicopters.

These improvements, validated in real-world conditions rather than simulations, have slashed research and development timelines and costs.  For the Apache the figure is $16BN; for the Black Hawk $21BN in today’s dollars.

Moreover, Israel’s track record has propelled American exports, such as recent Apache deals with Poland, South Korea, Britain, and others, in excess of $20BN.  Black Hawk sales to Greece, Australia, Sweden, Brazil, and others totalled $8BN–10BN for 2023–2026 alone. Similar dividends flow from the upgrading of the F-16 and F-15 combat aircraft, as well as US-made precision munitions, drones, air defenses, etc..

Israel-Driven US Innovations

Beyond hardware, Israel serves as the US Armed Forces’ premier innovation center for battle tactics and training.  Israeli operational lessons—drawn from thousands of hours in high-intensity, do-or-die environments—have reshaped US doctrines in air-to-air combat, radar suppression, urban warfare, counter-IED (Improvised Explosive Devices) operations, special forces raids, and hostage rescue. In addition, some US Special Operation battalions on their way to Iraq and other countries spend a few weeks in Israel, trained by Israeli experts in facing car bombs, suicide bombers and the deadly IEDs. US urban warfare units have adopted a training program, based on the Israeli daily experience in facing Islamic terrorism in Lebanon, Syria, Judea, Samaria and Gaza. Furthermore, the 1976 Jonathan (Entebbe) Operation directly inspired US counter-terrorism, in general, and the creation of Delta Force, in particular. The 1982 Israeli “Operation Mole Cricket 19” destroyed 20 advanced Soviet surface-to-air missile batteries (which were perceived by the US to be impregnable) and downed 82 Syrian (Soviet) MiGs without Israeli losses, remains a cornerstone of US Air Force training programs and battle tactics.  

More recently, Israel’s systematic sharing of maintenance, repair, and performance data on the performance of the F-35, F-16, F-15 in the war against Iran has provided the Pentagon with priceless insights on the vulnerabilities of Chinese and Russian air defenses, aircraft and ballistic missiles, which are deployed throughout the globe.  These insights have impacted the global balance of power, by eroding China’s and Russia’s posture of deterrence, while bolstering the US own deterrence. No other ally provides the US with such intensive, high-quality volume of national and homeland security support.

Intelligence Cooperation

Intelligence cooperation delivers a most staggering R-o-I due to Israel’s demography, which includes many people, who could easily blend into every Muslim country, as well as Israel’s daring, innovative, can-do, defiance of odds and out-of-the-box state-of-mind. Former US Air Force Intelligence Chief, General George Keegan, stated in an interview with the New York Times that if the US were to procure on its own the scope of intelligence provided by Israel, then the US would have to establish “5 CIAs.”  The annual budget of one CIA is around $15BN, which amounts to a 400% annual R-o-I on the $3.8BN investment, and probably twice or three-to-five times as much.  Senator Daniel Inouye, who served as the Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, assessed that Israel shares with the US more critical intelligence on enemy and rival military systems and counterterrorism than all NATO countries combined.

For example, in 2017, Israeli human and signal intelligence exposed a Syrian ISIS unit, which developed the means to insert explosives into laptops, bypassing US civic airport security. Upon receiving the information from Israel, the US upgraded its airport security systems, which spared the US a catastrophic loss of human lives, severe cost to US airliners, and a grave blow to public morale and the US’ global posture of deterrence. Israeli tracking aided the elimination of chief Shiite and Sunni Islamic terrorists. Moreover, Israel has delivered to the US Soviet-era advanced military hardware, such as the MiG-21 and MiG-23, the T-72 tank, the SA-6 missile, the P-12 radar, etc. These were leveraged for reverse-engineering, radar-jamming techniques, and battle-tactic refinements that tilted the Cold War balance of power. Recent Israeli contributions include detailed profiles of Iranian drones, North Korean ballistic missiles, and Hezbollah networks in the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and on US soil.  This directly enhances US homeland security, the safety of US installations in the Middle East and worldwide, and the stability of all pro-US Latin American and Arab regimes.

Israel’s Strategic Value for the US

Strategically, Israel functions as the largest US military beachhead with no US boots on the ground.  This is equivalent to a fleet of unsinkable aircraft carriers and multiple ground divisions in the Mediterranean-Red Sea-Indian Ocean-Persian Gulf theater.  During the 1970s and the 1980s, Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, who served as Chief of Naval Operations and General Alexander Haig, who served as NATO Supreme Commander and US Secretary of State, contended that the Israeli track record and potential replaces the need to manufacture and deploy to the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean a few more aircraft carriers and deploy additional ground divisions to the Middle East. The manufacturing cost of one advanced aircraft carrier is $10-$13 billion (more than 300 percent R-o-I), and the cost of deploying one ground division to the Middle East is $1 billion.

This region serves as the platform of 48% of global oil reserves, the intersection of critical shipping lanes between the Far East and the West, and the epicenter of anti-US Islamic terrorism. Israel’s deterrent posture has minimized the instability of pro-US Arab regimes (especially Jordan), facilitated six Israel-Arab peace treaties and constrained the maneuverability of Russia, China and anti-US Sunni and Shiite Islamic terrorism. Contrast this with the $35BN annual cost of US military bases in West Europe, in addition to 80,000 US servicemen stationed there….

Historical Precedents

Since 1967, Israel has been a leading national security-multiplier for the US as demonstrated by the following examples:

Israel’s 1967 victory aborted Soviet-backed Egyptian military/terror offensive to assume pan-Arab leadership, while toppling all pro-US Arab oil producing regimes.  That would have dealt the United States a historic economic and national security setback, while boosting the global strategic stature of the USSR.

In 1970, pro-Soviet Syria invaded Jordan, aiming to topple the pro-US Hashemite regime, and trigger ripple effects, toppling the pro-US Arab Gulf regimes. This was averted by Israel’s deployment of military forces to the Golan Heights (the tri-border area of Israel-Syria-Jordan) at a time when the US was bogged down in Southeast Asia. The 1973 Yom Kippur War Israeli victory convinced Egypt to realign itself from pro-Soviet to pro-US.  

The 1981 Israeli destruction of Iraq’s nuclear reactor snatched all pro-US Arab oil producers from the jaws of the pro-Soviet Saddam Hussein, and spared the US a potential nuclear confrontation during the 1991 First Gulf War. Israel’s 2007 destruction of Syria’s nuclear reactor averted the first ever nuclearized civil war (in Syria).

The 2024 Israeli offensives against Hezbollah sparked the toppling of Syria’s Assad regime. That in turn opened the door for the US to replace Russia as Syria’s major influencer. The June 2025 Israeli air offensive against Iran’s Ayatollah regime, devastated Iran’s air defenses and air force, enabling the US air force to bomb the three leading Iranian nuclear sites unimpeded. This exposed the vulnerabilities of Chinese and Russian air defenses, which has tilted global balance of power in favor of the US.

Israel’s Reliability

Israel presents zero “zig-zag” risk unlike other allies of the US, like regimes in Iran, Libya, Egypt, Iraq, and Yemen, which have flipped from pro-US to anti-US overnight due to coups, revolutions, or ideological shifts. Qatar hosts the massive Al Udeid US military base, but it bankrolls Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood anti-US Sunni terrorists, while on-again off-again cozying up to the anti-US Ayatollah regime. European allies’ support of US action is often conditioned upon domestic politics or multilateral approval, earning the quip “NATO = No Action Talk Only.” Realistically, West Europe is not willing to flex a muscle against Islamic terrorism and additional threats, if – given shrunken military establishments – there is a substantial muscle left…  Israel, by contrast, maintains a rock-solid, cross-spectrum pro-US domestic consensus (Left and Right, secular and religious, hawks and doves). It does not wish US bases on its soil; almost-fully-funds and fully mans its own military forces, and acts proactively against mutual threats. Since joining CENTCOM (the US military Central Command, overseeing the Middle East) in 2021, operational integration has surged dramatically, enhancing CENTCOM’s preparedness and battle tactics.

Israel’s multiplier-effect extends beyond defense into commercial high-tech. More than 250 US giants, such as Google, Intel, Nvidia, Microsoft, Apple, John Deere, Johnson & Johnson, General Electric maintain R&D centers in Israel, leveraging its brainpower, defiance-of-odds culture, and frontier mentality to pioneer dual-use breakthroughs in AI, cyber, communications, medicine, agriculture, irrigation and financial technology. These innovations sustain US global technological supremacy, boost US exports, and create high-value jobs in the US.

The Bottom Line

*Israel is to the US what Michael Jordan was to Nike – a transformative global ambassador and performance enhancer – but on a vastly larger, strategic scale. It is a self-funded, battle-hardened, democratic partner whose contributions to the US economy, national and homeland security, and power projection dwarf the annual investment of $3.8BN.

*The $3.8BN investment is erroneously defined as foreign aid.  In fact, the US supplies Israel with US-made advanced military systems, which are stress-tested, upgraded, and showcased globally by the Israeli battle-tested laboratory, generating an annual Return-on-Investment (R-o-I) of more than a 1,000%.  This outsized R-o-I is generated through research and development saving, export increase, employment expansion, corporate and personal income tax revenues, intelligence windfalls, and reduced US military footprints. Israel is not a passive recipient of US military hardware, but an active co-developer and multiplier of its value.

*In an era of peer competition and persistent threats, the US-Israel mutually-beneficial two-way-street remains indispensable. Policymakers and citizens alike would do well to recognize Israel as one of the US’ most astute investments.  It delivers to the American people unmatched financial and defense returns that secure freedom, prosperity, and deterrence for generations to come.

*In a world of costly uncertainty, a compact, capable ally that translates battlefield lessons into market-ready solutions is not merely valuable — it is indispensable.

Support Appreciated

US “Aid” to Israel: Windfall, Not Burden, for US Taxpayers
Ambassador (ret.) Yoram Ettinger, “Second Thought: a US-Israel Initiative”
July 3, 2026

*The US defense, aerospace and commercial high-tech industries, as well as the US Armed Forces, have leveraged Israel’s stature as the world’s most militarily and technologically challenged society, which has been forced to develop ground-breaking, time and cost-effective solutions, moving swiftly from concept to fully operational capabilities.

*Israel’s unique experience in intercepting ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drone salvos has been integrated into the architecture of US-made air defense systems. It has saved the US many years of laboratory simulations and many billions of dollars in theoretical testing.  The close collaboration with Israel – which excels in operational interoperability of a multilayered nearly impregnable shield – has provided the US with critical advantages – such as boosting US exports – in the technological and economic competition with China, Russia, Britain and France, and in the battle against Sunni and Shite Islamic terrorism.

*For example, during the early stages of the F-35 program, Israel’s operational adjustments, in collaboration with Lockheed-Martin, overcame most/all hardware and software glitches.  Thus, saving the US 10-20 years of research and development, which amounts to mega-billions of dollars in research and development (total F-35’s R&D cost – $55bn). Similarly, the US-Israel joint development of the Arrow series (Arrow 2 and Arrow 3) and David’s Sling has refined radar algorithms, sensor fusion, and interceptor physics, benefitting the overall US missile defense program, including the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD anti-missile system) and the Patriot system.  These are real-life conditions, that no peacetime test can generate.

* The first deployment of a THAAD unit to Israel took place in October 2024, following a series of Iranian missile attacks. The system achieved its first recorded operational success on December 27, 2024, when it intercepted a ballistic missile launched from Yemen by (Iran’s proxy) Houthi terrorists. Acting as the prime showroom and billboard for the superiority of US-made military systems – intercepting cutting edge threats – Israel provides the ultimate marketing tool and export-multiplier for the US: effective combat validation.

*Israel’s 2024 and June 2025 combat experience (against Iran and the Houthis) triggered a THAAD production revolution, including new sales and replenishment demand. On June 24, 2026, Lockheed Martin was awarded a $35.3bn 2026-2032 sole-source, fixed-price contract for the THAAD interceptor production.  As a follow up to the June 2025 War THAAD performance, the US Missile Defense Agency (MDA) awarded a $6.2bn annual contract to increase annual production from 96 to 400 missiles.  In January and March 2026, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait ordered $9bn worth of Patriot PAC-3 missiles and $8bn Patriot next-generation radar. Poland announced a $15bn Patriot Phase II acquisition. The RTX (formerly Raytheon) Patriot missile system market was estimated at $12.09 billion in 2025, expected to reach $13.02 billion in 2026, growing to $20.61 billion by 2032. Much of the demand for US-manufactured air defenses has been generated by Israel’s combat experience.

*The US-made THAAD is one of dozens of advanced US military systems, supplied to Israel in its capacity as the largest battle-tested, no-cost, high-fidelity research and development center (a massive beta site) of the US defense and aerospace industries, that employ over 2.5 million Americans (e.g., Lockheed-Martin, Boeing, RTX-Raytheon, General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman and Caterpillar-Defense). In a similar manner, Israel serves as the leading hub of research and development centers (outside the US) for over 250 US commercial high-tech giants (e.g., Intel, NVIDIA, Dell, Amazon, John Deere, IBM, AOL, Applied Materials, Google, Facebook, Cisco, General Electric, General Motors, HP, 3M, Intuit, Motorola, Apple and Microsoft).  This has bolstered the global lead of the US commercial high-tech sector.  Israel has also received the THAAD in its role as the largest innovation center for the US Armed Forces, enhancing the battle tactics of the US air defenses.

*The US has benefitted from the extensive, battle-tested experience of Israel’s multi-layered air defense architecture, that has served as a mega-dollar-multiplier and a mega-force-multiplier for the US, just like the dramatic benefits derived from supplying Israel the F-35, F-16, F-15, F-4, Black Hawk and Apache combat helicopters, the C-130 Hercules transport plane, etc. 

*The uniquely intense Israeli use of advanced US military systems has generated a wave of operational feedback to the US military and to US defense contractors, optimizing US capabilities, providing a substantial return on investment (ROI) on the annual investment in Israel ($3.8bn), which is misperceived as “foreign aid.” Israeli feedback/lessons shared with the US defense and aerospace industries have saved scores of years of research and development, which amount to mega-billions of dollars, bolstering US competitiveness, increasing US exports, expanding US employment, generating income tax revenues to the US Treasury, and tilting the global balance of power (away from Russia and China) in favor of the US with no need for additional US military personnel.

The Bottom Line

*The US makes a highly lucrative annual $3.8bn investment in Israel (misperceived as “foreign aid”) for which the US receives a wealth of battle tactics data, mega-billions of dollar R&D cost reductions, billions in exports, an expansion of employment, increased corporate and individual income tax revenues, and a formidable strategic anchor in a critically volatile region, which is the chief epicenter of anti-US Islamic terrorism, the home of 48% of global oil reserves and a vital intersection of shipping lanes between the Far East and Western Europe.

*Unlike the $35bn annual US cost of maintaining military bases in West Europe (including 80,000 US soldiers), the aforementioned contributions to the US economy and national security are extended by the self-manned and mostly self-funded Israel.

*US-Israel relations constitute a classic case of a mutually-beneficial two-way-street: a financial windfall for the US taxpayer!

Support Appreciated

Ambassador (ret.) Yoram Ettinger, “Second Thought: a US-Israel Initiative”
June 4, 2026

*Israel has been the largest research and development center, outside the US, for the US’ commercial high tech sector.  Over 250 US high tech giants – such as Intel, Dell, Amazon, John Deere, IBM, AOL, Applied Materials, Google, Facebook, Cisco, General Electric, General Motors, HP, 3M, Intuit, Motorola, Apple, Microsoft and NVIDIA – have established research and development centers in Israel. They have leveraged Israel’s brainpower, which has produced out-of-the-box and ground-breaking innovations, bolstering the global superiority of the US commercial high tech. This Israeli connection has enhanced the US global competitiveness, saving the US many years of research and development (worth billions of dollars), increasing US exports, expanding US employment and boosting the US Treasury’s (corporate and individual) income tax revenues.

*Similarly, Israel has become the largest research and development center, outside the US, for the US’ defense and aerospace industries (e.g., Lockheed-Martin, Boeing, RTX-Raytheon, General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman and Caterpillar), which employ 2.5 million people. This Israeli connection has saved the US defense and aerospace industries hundreds of years of research and development (10-20 years each in the case of the F-35, F-16 and F-15), which equals to mega-billions of dollars. It has upgraded the competitiveness of the US companies in the global market, raising US exports, beefing up the US employment base and generating more (corporate and individual) income tax revenues to the US Treasury.   

*Israel has made significant contributions to the US defense and aerospace industries by enhancing the US’ research and development, effectiveness, sales and employment involved in the F-35 (manufacturer and subcontractors employ 290,000 people), F-16 (47,500 people) and F-15 (25,000-50,000 people) combat aircraft programs, in addition to the Apache and Blackhawk combat helicopter programs, as well as the C-130 programs.

*In fact, Israel’s contributions to the US defense and aerospace industries dates back to the Phantom F-4 program, since it received the first Boeing-manufactured Phantom in 1969 – the first advanced US military system supplied to Israel.  As a result, Israel was the first country, outside the US, to fly the F-4E operationally during the 1969 War of Attrition and then the 1973 Yom Kippur War – in its capacity as the cost effective battle tested laboratory for the US manufacturer – setting the F-4E on a considerable path of improvement.

*Track record plays a critical role in enhancing the quality of defense systems, and determining the level of sales to the US Air Force, in general, and export, in particular. The Israeli Air Force’s uniquely-intense and effective track record provided live, high-stakes proof of the F-4E’s effectiveness against Soviet-supplied air defenses and fighters — the exact threat scenario most US allies feared.  Israel demonstrated the F-4’s value as a multi-role platform (air superiority, ground attack, reconnaissance), widening its appeal.

*The Israeli use of the F-4E made it attractive to US allies, such as the UK, Germany, Japan, (the pre-Khomeini) Iran, South Korea, (the pre-Erdogan) Turkey, and Greece.  The Israeli “Triple-A Store” demonstrated the F-4E’s versatility, air superiority and strike missions. The Israeli Show Room played an outsized role in boosting sales and exports, providing real-world evidence that the F-4E could suppress Soviet air defenses, overcome the Soviet-made aircraft, was effective in high-intensity warfare, and could adapt with indigenous weapons and avionics, especially radar, cockpit and structural upgrades, including engine upgrading.

*Exposing the vulnerabilities of the Soviet air defenses in Egypt in 1969 and 1973, just like exposing the vulnerabilities of the Chinese and Soviet air defenses in Iran in 2025 and 2026 has tilted the global balance of power in favor of the US, since the same air defenses are deployed throughout the globe.

*Israel’s existential challenges yielded a unique operational experience of air-to-air combat, ground attack, and reconnaissance, resulting in non-conventional innovations, continuously modifying the F-4E with improved avionics, communications, fire-control systems, and structural and cockpit upgrades, most of which was shared with the US manufacturer, while the resulting cutting-edge battle tactics were shared with the US Air Force.

*As it has done with the aging Boeing’s F-15 and Lockheed-Martin’s F-16, Israel extended the operational life expectancy of the F-4E, while pushing the operational limits of these combat aircraft through unconventionally intense use and aggressive upgrades.

*A powerful promotion for the F-4E’s capabilities was conducted by Israel’s extensively successful use of the aircraft in real high-intensity combat, leading to more sales to the US Air Force and increased export.

If by “total export” you mean all F-4 Phantom II aircraft delivered to foreign customers outside the U.S. armed forces, the best available figures indicate that approximately 919 F-4s were delivered directly to international customers out of a total production run of about 5,195 aircraft.

The bottom line

*Supplying Israel dozens of advanced US military systems has always advanced US interests, economically and militarily.

*Supplying advanced military systems to Israel has always yielded to the US taxpayer an exceptionally high annual Return-on-Investment (R-o-I) on the annual $3.8BN investment in Israel (misperceived as “foreign aid”). This annual R-o-I includes mega-billions of dollars in research and development savings, increased export, expanded employment, additional income tax revenues to the US Treasury, and upgraded battle tactics for the US Armed Forces.  In also consists of an exceptional scope and quality of intelligence, which was compared by a former Chief of US Air Force Intelligence, General George Keagan, to 5 CIAs (the annual budget of one CIA – $15BN). In addition, it consists – according to a former Supreme Commander of NATO and US Secretary of State, General Alexander Haig – of Israel as the largest US aircraft carrier with no US boots on board, saving the need to manufacture and deploy to the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean a few new aircraft carriers, accompanied by a few ground divisions. The production cost of one advanced aircraft carrier is $10MN-$13MN, and the annual cost of deploying a ground division to the Middle East is $1BN.  

*Israel is not a recipient of “foreign aid.”  Rather, it is a commercial and national security partner of the US, engaged in a mutually-beneficial two-way-street cooperation, which yields to the US taxpayer a bonanza, exponentially higher than the $3.8BN annual investment made by the US.

 Support Appreciated

Ambassador (ret.) Yoram Ettinger, “Second Thought: a US-Israel Initiative”
May 26, 2026

*The export reach of the US-manufactured C-130 transport plane has multiplied 4-5 times since Israel received its first 2 units in 1971. Since 2010, more than 2,700 C-130s have been ordered and/or delivered to 70 countries. The total production volume of the initial C-130 program (A-H) reached 2,271 airframes, while the highly modernized C-130J Super Hercules variant has already surpassed 2,800 aircraft (48% operated by the US Air Force and 52% exported).  The cost of 1 C-130J Hercules is $85mn-$100mn.

*As is the case with the US-made F-35, F-16 and F-15 combat aircraft and Black Hawk and Apache helicopters, Israel has performed as a Triple-A Store on behalf of the US aerospace industry. It operates Lockheed-Martin’s C-130J Super Hercules military transport aircraft at high intensity, providing the US manufacturer and Air Force with free, high-stakes operational testing and capabilities-validation, invaluable structural wear data, and unmatched marketing prestige. This process has catapulted the Hercules to the most effectively-designed and widely-exported tactical airlifter in history, which performs heavy-lift cargo missions, troop deployments, aerial refueling, and humanitarian aid assignments. Israel has also provided the US Air Force with unique combat-proven battle tactics.   

*Combat-proven track record is the most critical accelerator of defense exports, and Israel’s survival challenges have forced Israel’s Air Force (as well as the Israel Defense Forces, in general) to employ C-130 airframe (and dozens of other US military systems) in the most demanding tactical scenarios imaginable. More than other Air Force, the Israeli Air Force experiences the “do-or-die” state of mind on a daily basis, which has yielded unparalleled battle experience, innovative battle tactics and technical and mechanical upgrades, which has been shared with the US manufacturers and the US Air Force. For example, the 1976 Jonathan (Entebbe) Operation became one of the most powerful marketing events in the aircraft’s history, demonstrating an unprecedent capacity for long-range, low-altitude, clandestine penetration and short-field landing on primitive, unlit runways. Moreover, the 1991 Operation Solomon, which airlifted over 14,000 Ethiopian Jews to Israel pushed the C-130’s structural and payload limits to the absolute maximum.

*Israel has showcased prospective global buyers the C-130’s unparalleled durability, versatility, and reliability, cementing the C-130 as the undisputed international standard for tactical airlift, and the longest continuously manufactured military aircraft in aviation history.  

*Israel has not been just another end-user of advanced US military systems, but a unique value-added modifier.  Israeli upgrades have substantially improved the performance and export of US defense and aerospace industries (which employ 2.5 million people), extending the operational lifespan of aircrafts far beyond original engineering estimates.

*Leveraging Israel’s unique operational, maintenance and repair experience, has led to US-Israel joint efforts like the state-of-the-art C-130 simulation center in Israel, which has refined training methodologies, benefitting both countries, in general, and the global C-130 ecosystem, in particular.

*Israel has contributed in a similar manner to some 400 US commercial high-tech giants, which maintain substantial research and development centers in Israel, enhancing their global edge.

The Bottom Line

*Israel receives – with much gratitude – world class US defense systems in its role as the largest, cost-effective research and development center and battle-tested laboratory for the US defense and aerospace industries.

*The Israeli use of advanced US military systems has saved the US many years of research and development, which has generated mega-billion-dollar annual saving of research and development cost.

*The Israeli battle-tested laboratory has enhanced the US competitiveness in the global market, which has yielded a mega-billion-dollar annual increase in export.

*This has expanded the US employment base, increasing corporate and individual income tax revenues to the US Treasury.  

*Israel’s unique combat experience serves as the most productive innovation center for the US Armed Forces, improving their battle tactics.

*Israel has, also, provided the US a unique flow of top-quality intelligence, preempting anti-US Islamic terrorism (on US soil and globally), and exposing the vulnerabilities and advantages of enemies’ and rivals’ military systems. This flow of Israeli intelligence has been compared by General George Keagan, a former Chief of the US Air Force Intelligence, to the output of Five CIA’s (one CIA’s annual budget is about $15bn)

*Israel has been the US’ most effective beachhead in the Middle East, constituting the largest US military base outside the US with no US boots on the ground, sparing the US the mega-billion of-dollars needed to manufacture and deploy (to the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean) a few new aircraft carriers (2026 cost of an advanced aircraft carrier – $10bn-$13bn), and accompany them with 5-7 ground divisions (2026 cost of deploying 1 ground division to the Middle East – $1bn).

*The aforementioned data demonstrate the mutually-beneficial two-way-street cooperation between the US and Israel, which has yielded a dramatic Return-on-Investment on the annual US $3.8bn investment in Israel (misperceived as “foreign aid”).

Support Appreciated

(More data on Israel as a force and dollar multiplier for the US)
Ambassador (ret.) Yoram Ettinger, “Second Thought: a US-Israel Initiative”
May 1, 2026

*Against the backdrop of the current war against the Ayatollah regime, US-Israel joint drills have highlighted the immense cooperation and mutual respect between the US’ Navy Seals and its Israeli counterpart Shayetet 13 – both specializing in pre-emptive operation beyond enemy lines – enhancing battle tactics of both units.

*The existing threat of Iranian mines in the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf, highlights the mutually-beneficial collaboration between the US and Israeli Navies. This collaboration has leveraged Israel’s uniquely intense naval battle experience in the Mediterranean, the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea (Northern Indian Ocean) and the Persian Gulf. This collaboration has highlighted the mutually-beneficial joint exercises and Israel’s capabilities in the areas of intelligence gathering, naval commando, joint exercises, mine detection and mine clearance operations. 

*For example, during the January 1991 First Gulf War, the US and Israel collaborated in naval mine-clearing, which consisted of specialized Israeli mine plows and intelligence, which enhanced the effectiveness of coalition naval operations against Iraqi mine threats in the Persian Gulf. Israel supplied other critical technologies, including night-vision goggles and a low-altitude warning system for helicopters. Israeli military intelligence, highly focused on Iraq, also provided detailed tactical information to the U.S. about Iraqi military activities.

*The Israeli Navy has acquired substantial combat experience – shared with the US Navy – and is frequently involved in high-threat environments and asymmetric warfare, as well as in the areas of the Israeli developed and manufactured unmanned maritime vessels (UMV) – also known as unmanned surface vessels (USV) – and unmanned intelligence submarines.

*The U.S. and Israeli Navies conduct frequent joint exercises, such as the International Maritime Exercise (IMX) and Intrinsic Defender, leveraging each other’s experience in mine neutralization, search and rescue, medical  emergencies at sea, maritime interdiction, rapid response, counter-terrorism and integration of women.

*Israel’s Underwater Missions Unit and the US Fifth Fleet collaborate in tactical training on topics like underwater search, mine removal, and underwater medical emergencies. Thus, they have boosted each side’s tactical capabilities in a joint attempt to pre-empt and counter terrorism, as well as curtail China’s maneouverability in the Middle East and adjacent regions.

*Israel’s Navy has demonstrated its potential, when assaulting energy infrastructure of the Ayatollah’s proxy, Houthi terrorists, some 1,300 miles from Israel’s shores. The Houthis have terrorized a major intersection of international commercial shipping lanes between the Far East and the Mediterranean, in addition to launching ballistic missiles and predator UAVs at Israel.

The Bottom Line

*The Israeli Navy’s multi-theatre and uniquely-intense combat experience has served as a cost-effective battle-tested laboratory, an innovation center and a research and development center for the US Navy, as have Israel’s Air Force, armored units, counter-terrorism units, urban warfare units and military medical units been for their US counterparts.

*The Israeli experience has yielded many upgrades for the US defense industries and its products, saving the US mega-billions of dollars in research and development cost. Thus, enhancing US competitiveness in the global market, increasing US exports, expanding US employment and generating more income tax revenues to the US Treasury.

*The US-Israel naval close cooperation has highlighted the reality of the mutually-beneficial two-way-street of cooperation between the US and Israel.

Support Appreciated

Ambassador (ret.) Yoram Ettinger, “Second Thought: a US-Israel Initiative”
April 17, 2026

*”Epic Fury” has documented an unprecedent military synergy and cooperation (personal, social and operational mutual-respect) between the US and Israel, with the US leveraging Israel’s unique capabilities, especially in the areas of intelligence, the air force and special operations in the face of the war against America, which erupted in 1979. Israel – more than any other ally – has acted as a unique force-multiplier for the US.

*Several US combat pilots – among them a few US Congressmen and Congressional staff – shared with me their high esteem of Israel’s Air Force (IAF) and its contribution to the US Air Force in the areas of Command-Control-Communications, out-of-the-box battle tactics, avionics and maintenance. They underscored the benefits derived from the frequent joint US-Israel exercises, which feature the daring and innovative maneuvers conducted by the exceptionally, intensely-experienced Israeli pilots, whose do-or-die state-of-mind is a derivative of Israel’s “narrow geographic waistline” and unique seven-front-threats.

*The highly intense use of combat aircraft during “Epic Fury” – in addition to Israel’s ongoing wars against Hezbollah, Hamas and Houthi terrorists in Lebanon, Gaza and Yemen and the pro-Ayatollah terrorists in Iraq – has highlighted the “Israeli Turnaround Time factor,” which has been a decisive force multiplier, yielding sustained high-volume strikes that has outpaced Iranian initiatives. This refers to the IAF’s exceptionally rapid aircraft servicing, rearming, and preparation between sorties – using fewer but seamlessly-choreographed ground crew personnel, including female technicians – which extend to 1,000-1,200 miles each way. The relentless attempt to minimize the Ayatollah’s missile launching capabilities, requires sorties, which involve exceptionally intense 34+ hour mission days. US combat pilots attest that the IAF operates at a pace that “shatters global standards, sometimes flying up to three daily strikes,” operating under a flying-or-eating (no sleep) policy during much of Epic Fury. The IAF managed to convert speed on the ground into more strikes in the air.

*US combat pilots emphasized the fact that the IAF offensive displayed 200 aircraft simultaneously in one night, hitting 500 targets 1,000-1,200 miles away, sometimes with no midair refueling (facilitated by the F-35’s innovative external fuel tanks, developed by the IAF and Lockheed-Martin), and returning without a single collision/loss.

*The IAF has revolutionized air force’s battle tactics also through the Israeli-upgraded F-35, which is equipped with sensor fusion, electronic warfare, and data-sharing capabilities, which allow other combat aircraft to hit targets without exposing themselves as much.

*According to the US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine, “[The opening, preemptive air offensive] was a daylight strike based on a trigger event conducted by the Israeli Defense Forces, enabled by the US intelligence community…. [The Israeli operation was] impressive in size and scope, utilizing approximately 200 aircraft and conducting over 1,000 sorties by March 2… using American-made, Israeli-modified F-15, F-16, and F-35 fighters….”

*US intelligence specialists praised Israel’s rapid target identification (while in motion) and timely cueing for strikes; effective intelligence fusion across signals, imagery, cyber attacks, and human resources; good operational security and compartmentation that enabled coordinated U.S.–Israeli missions. They noted that the flow of Israeli intelligence during the 40-day conflict provided a level of regional insight equivalent to several U.S. intelligence agencies combined. This was particularly evident in the identification of over 7,000 critical targets, wiping out the Ayatollah’s air defenses and much of the Ayatollah’s ballistic missile and predator drones’ infrastructure.

The Bottom Line

The US-Israel relations constitute a mutually-beneficial two-way-street, where the US makes an annual $3.8bn investment in – rather than extending foreign aid to – Israel. This investment yields to the US tax payer an annual Return-on-Investment (R-o-I) well over 1,000%, which is the highest ever R-o-I on US government investments. Israel is a unique dollar and force multiplier, more than any other US ally.

Support Appreciated