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Israel gives provisional nod to F-35 deal

An F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter test aircraft banks over the flightline at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida on, April 23, 2009. The aircraft is the first F-35 to visit the base which will be the future home of the JSF training facility. (UPI Photo/Julianne Showalter/US Air Force)
1 of 3 | An F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter test aircraft banks over the flightline at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida on, April 23, 2009. The aircraft is the first F-35 to visit the base which will be the future home of the JSF training facility. (UPI Photo/Julianne Showalter/US Air Force) | License Photo

TEL AVIV, Israel, Aug. 16 (UPI) -- Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has approved a $2.7 billion deal for the purchase of 20 Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II fighters.

The deal, two years in the making, still requires final approval in September by a panel of Israeli government ministers, Haaretz reported.

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If final approval is given, Israel will become the first foreign country, outside those that had a hand in developing the aircraft, to sign an agreement to buy the still unoperational fighter.

"The F-35 is the fighter plane of the future that will allow Israel to maintain its aerial superiority and its technological advantage in the region," Barak said. "The F-35 will give the IAF better capabilities, both near and far, to help strengthen Israel's national security."

The Israeli-U.S. deal took two years to conclude. Israel had demand to install Israeli systems on the aircraft and the United States refused.

Haaretz said Israel backed down once the United States agreed to allow Israeli gear to be installed on additional aircraft ordered at a later date.

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