Israel F35 Showdown May Be Stealth Campaign For New U.S. Weapons

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Israel F35 Showdown May Be Stealth Campaign For New U.S. Weapons | Investor's Business Daily

The first Israeli F-35 was delivered in December 2016. (Andreas Zeitler/shutterstock.com)

GILLIAN RICH04:28 PM ET 08/26/2020

The Israeli F-35 is a key weapon in maintaining its military superiority in the Middle East region, and a proposal to sell it to the United Arab Emirates has set off a diplomatic row between the two U.S. allies.

But analysts say Israel's strong opposition to the UAE obtaining Lockheed Martin's (LMT) stealth fighter could be a ploy to get additional U.S. weapons ahead of the 2020 presidential election.

The dispute arose after Israel and the UAE agreed to establish diplomatic ties earlier this month. The deal reportedly included an implicit understanding that the UAE would get the F-35, which the country has long sought.

President Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have said that the U.S. is reviewing the sale.

But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu drew a hard line publicly against a sale and claimed the resumption of diplomatic ties with the UAE didn't include any mention of weapons sales........read rest of article

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