Israel's F-35 purchase still shrouded in controversy
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The best plane?
So now it looks as though Israel will take possession of 20 F- 35s sooner or later but not everyone believes it is necessarily the best aircraft to fit the bill.
The big selling point of the plane is its "very low observable stealth" as Lockheed puts it. While the F-35 is not entirely undetectable, it has more chance of reaching enemy territory without being spotted than conventional fighters.
"It brings new technology, it brings long life, it brings modernization and any country that is invested in that form of either defense or offense, depending on how you choose to use the system, it certainly would bring the advantages that come with the avionics or the modernization that comes along with the rest of the aircraft," retired U.S. three-star General Tad Oelstrom recently told Xinhua.
Shapir, though, voiced the concerns of many analysts both from the Israeli defense establishment and its watchers.
"From an aerodynamic functionality perspective it is not as good as the F-16," he said.
Another potential problem for Israel is what some say the aircraft's limited payload ability.
Yet the Israel Air Force and Israeli Defense Minister Barak both want the fighter in their service. This is in part about practical considerations, having an edge over regional enemies and also, to a degree, bravado, according to Shapir.
In addition to its stealth capabilities, its computer systems are top notch with advanced detection systems.
"But does that mean this is the plane to stand up to the threats that Israel faces? It's a difficult question that right now has no answers," he said.
What the plane does give Israel is "prestige," Shapir explained. The Israel Air Force always wants to have the most advanced planes and technologies in the Middle East.
"One of the considerations here is that the IAF's fleet of F-16 jets is growing old and will one day have to be replaced," said Yiftah Shapir, a senior researcher at Tel Aviv University's Institute of National Security Studies.
"I am still not convinced about the huge advantage (the plane) will give us besides the deterrence aspect of everybody in the region knowing that we have a big, strong plane," Shapir said.
