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Will the F-35 change Middle East warfare?

Once it appears in Middle Eastern skies, the F-35 fighter aircraft may alter how wars are waged in the region.
Three F-35 Joint Strike Fighters (rear to front) AF-2, AF-3 and AF-4, can be seen flying over Edwards Air Force Base in this December 10, 2011 handout photo provided by Lockheed Martin. Lockheed Martin Corp on February 25, 2013 said there was no evidence that a lithium-ion battery contributed to a Feb. 14 incident that caused smoke in the cockpit of an F-35 test plane. Lockheed spokesman Michael Rein said initial reviews indicated a potential failure in the plane's cooling system, which had been removed fro
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US Vice President Joe Biden delivered a speech in Washington April 23 on the occasion of Israeli Independence Day celebrations. He announced that in 2016, the United States will deliver two F-35 Joint Strike Fighters to Israel. Yet, the debate still rages on the cost-effectiveness of the Joint Strike Fighter project, with rumors circulating that the project may be terminated due to its phenomenal $1 trillion budget.

Biden indicated that the F-35s may be fully operational for the first time in the Middle East next year. Will the F-35 totally revamp traditional approaches to warfare in the Middle East? This question is timely because in recent years we have seen a more “militarized Middle East,” with the ongoing civil war in Syria, the expansion of the Islamic State threat to Africa and Afghanistan, clashes in Yemen, increasing sectarian divides and the Iran-Israel conflict. 

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