Israel’s Air Force will inaugurate a third squadron of F-35 fighter jets next week at the country’s Nevatim airbase.
The 117th squadron, designated “Adir,” will be activated as a training unit to prepare pilots to fly the highly advanced stealth F-35 Joint Strike Fighter in combat, according to The Jerusalem Post.
The 117th is a re-activation of an older F-16 unit that partook in the successful bombing of Iraq’s Osiriak nuclear reactor in 1981. The unit marked the first-ever mid-air shooting down of another aircraft by an F-16 during combat with Syria's air force just a month later.
Defense Minister Benny Gantz told the Israeli press in January that his government was petitioning the Trump administration for last-minute approval for additional F-35 sales in order to form Israel's third stealth fighter squadron.
