Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz (Likud), who is part of Israel’s Security Cabinet, said on Tuesday that he’s not worried about the sale of F-35 advanced combat jets to the United Arab Emirates.

“I assume the Americans are developing the means to overcome the aircraft’s ‘stealth’ abilities,” Steinitz said on Army Radio. “It would be good if they shared that with us.”

“In any case, the F-35 doesn’t have enough of a range to reach Israel from the United Arab Emirates,” Steinitz concluded.

However, Lt.-Col. (res.) Oren Peled, an IDF combat helicopter pilot who served in the Israeli Air Force for 24 years, disagrees with Steinitz’s assessment. He tweeted a response to Steinitz’s remarks on Twitter: “If the range exists from Israel to Iran, the range also exists from the United Arab Emirates to Israel. They also have refueling points along the way and it may not even be necessary to refuel in the air.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)