Israel has used the F-35 jet throughout the Gaza genocide, as well as in airstrikes against Iran, Lebanon and Yemen. And now Israel’s ambassador to the US, Yechiel Leiter, has confirmed the number of flight hours Israeli pilots have on the Lockheed Martin stealth fighter:
is greater than that of all the pilots of the other foreign countries that were partners in developing the aircraft.
These comments are completely at odds with the UK government’s insistence that Israel is a “minor customer” of the global F-35 jet programme.
In an interview Leiter said:
The feedback from our pilots reaches Lockheed Martin. When I visited there a few weeks ago, their CEO told me that Israel’s information and developments ‘are worth many billions to my company.’
Leiter was speaking with Israel Hayom daily, and the Times of Israel reported it on 16 February.
The UK makes 15% of the F-35 jet. The US is the lead partner and the UK is the only Tier 1 partner. The other partners to the programme are Australia, Canada, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands and Norway.
Israel has 48 F-35I jets, with 27 more jets on order. On 20 January, the Canary shared news from Lakenheath Alliance for Peace that three new F-35Is left the UK air base, RAF Mildenhall, bound for Israel.
Israel is also involved in the production of the F-35 programme. In February 2026 Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) celebrated the delivery of its 350th fighter jet wings to Lockheed Martin for production of the F-35 fighter jet.
The UK government has been provided with extensive evidence of Israel’s use of the F-35Is by Al-Haq and GLAN throughout their legal case in the UK High Court.
Despite an Israeli ambassador and the CEO of Lockheed Martin confirming Israel’s central role in the F-35 programme – both as a user and developer of the F-35 jet – the UK government has repeatedly attempted to downplay Israel’s use of the jet and role in the programme.
In a letter to Dame Meg Hillier MP on 19 February, minister for the Middle East Hamish Falconer MP wrote:
The UK Government has stopped direct exports of F-35 parts for use by Israel. The only exception is for the global programme, of which Israel is a minor customer [emphasis added].
In a letter to Sarah Champion MP, chair of the International Development Committee, on 1 September 2025, former foreign secretary David Lammy wrote:
We are unaware of any possible breaches of IHL having been linked to the limited evidence of F-35 use in Gaza and it is worth remembering that, where UK-produced F-35 parts go to the global spares pool, Israel operate a very small proportion of over 1,000 F-35s in the global fleet [emphasis added].
As early as November 2023 it was reported that Israel was making heavy use of its modified F-35I Adirs. Former IDF chief of staff Lt Gen Herzi Halevi confirmed F-35Is were providing close air support to ground troops 200 metres away in Gaza. He stated:
We never did anything like this. With very heavy munitions, a very good connection between what the [ground] force needs and what the plane knows to give.
In December 2023, US officials confirmed they were rushing spare parts and additional capabilities “at breakneck speed” for the F-35 to Israel from October 2023. Officials stated Israel’s F-35Is have performed “absolutely outstanding” in Gaza, and that the programme could “learn a lot” from seeing F-35s used in combat.
The Israeli Air Force has modified its F-35Is, in partnership with Lockheed Martin and the Pentagon’s F-35 programme, to operate in so-called “beast mode”, which allows them to carry four 2,000lb bombs. The IAF said that its aircraft are the “only F-35 to conduct strikes with this design.”
Danish NGO Danwatch revealed that in July 2024 an F-35 dropped three 2,000 lb bombs in an attack on a so-called “safe zone” on Al-Mawasi in Khan Younis, killing 90 Palestinians.
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Arms Trade said:
