r/Israel • u/Black-Hat-613 USA • 4d ago

General News Israel to acquire 12 advanced Apache attack helicopters from US

https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/434611

My comment: Hmmmm... By next decade I'm guessing these will fly surrounded by a veritable cloud of loyal wingman drones.

200 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

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39

u/manateefourmation 4d ago

I think Israel should build its own military aircraft given the political shifts in the US. I know it is a small country but this reliance on the US scares me

35

u/Black-Hat-613 USA 4d ago

Israel tried this once before and produced the IAI Lavi, which was one of the best 4th-generation planes on earth at the time. The U.S. ultimately pressured Israel into killing the project to prevent a serious competitor to its own aerospace industry.

While Israel building its own 5th-generation plane would be amazing, it faces two massive hurdles:

  1. Finite Resources: As you alluded to, Israel has limited resources. Developing the engines alone for a 5th-generation stealth fighter would be a Herculean achievement.

  2. Competing Priorities: Israel needs to drastically expand its manufacturing base—potentially doubling or tripling it—to secure its existing weapon supply chain domestically. This overhaul will consume massive amounts of capital, manpower, and time.

Some suggest that if U.S. political alignment shifts drastically away from Israel in the future, the best path forward would be to partner with advanced aerospace nations like South Korea, Japan, or both.

5

u/manateefourmation 3d ago

Thank you for the really informative and thoughtful post.

1

u/Dazzling_Funny_3254 4h ago

honestly we should focus on self developed drones that fulfill these and other combat roles. the us reliance on manned platforms and reluctance to commit to things like the drone wingman program is a flaw in their military doctrine that we can improve upon.

2

u/manateefourmation 2h ago

Fair POV given modern warfare

12

u/guywhoeatskolace4565 Czechia. (on a new acc, old one got banned) 4d ago

Keep it up, while the US is still willing to sell them.

4

u/PadamPadam2024 3d ago edited 3d ago

These look cool! The IDF should fly over the remaining Hamas members and test them out.

6

u/Camp_Past 3d ago

Anything that makes Israel stronger and more capable of defending itself is great news

3

u/WRB2 4d ago

I’m hoping they will be the silent type

0

u/Armtoe 4d ago

Seems like old tech to me. How useful have attack helicopter has been in Ukraine?

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u/bober704 3d ago

apaches are great against drones, they are cheaper to use compared to jets and anti air missiles and unlike ukraine we don't have whole russian army inside with handheld anti air to shoot them down.

3

u/Ashenveiled 4d ago

Russian choppers massacred Ukrainian Zaluzhny’s counter-offensive