"Due to weather conditions that don't allow for the departure of planes from Italy, the planes' takeoff will be delayed for a short time," the IDF Spokesman's Office said.
The two aircraft's journey to Israel is being done in an administration mode, meaning the planes are unarmed and flying under strict security protocols.
The planes were scheduled to land at the Nevatim Air Base on Monday around noontime and be received in a ceremony at 2:30pm attended by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Reuven Rivlin, Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman and his American counterpart, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, in addition to senior IDF officers.
Because of the expected delay, a decision on whether to hold the ceremony on Monday or not will only be made at 4:30pm.
Earlier Monday, Carter was welcomed with a military honor guard at the Kirya IDF Headquarters in Tel Aviv. "Today, we are receiving the F-35 plane that is joining our ranks and present another component in maintaining air superiority in our region," Lieberman said on Monday morning.
"A strong Air Force means a strong IDF, and a strong IDF means a strong State of Israel and a strong nation of Israel," the defense minister asserted. "We also thank Defense Secretary Carter. It is only symbolic that his term ends close to the arrival of these planes to Israel because Carter, like the American people, is a great friend of Israel," Lieberman added.
Lt. Col. Yotam, 38, the commander of the Israel Air Force's first F-35 squadron, will be the first Israeli pilot to fly the American stealth jet. The squadron, named "Golden Eagle Squadron," will become operational in about a year. (end of excerpt)
Click here for the full story, on the Ynet News website.>/i>
(EDITOR’S NOTE: Assuming weather conditions are the real cause for the delay – weather reports say otherwise – it is entirely surprising that an aircraft vaunted for its all-round capabilities and invincibility could be grounded by weather.
One wonders how the F-35 would perform if it had to take off on a combat mission when the weather was as terrible as today’s over Cameri, reported by Weather.com as “Overcast, 0% precipitation, wind from the SSW at 4 mph and with 84% humidity.”
We would not be surprised if this eventually turns out to be a convenient cover-up for a technical fault or systems breakdown.)
-ends-
from Defense Aerospace - Press releases http://ift.tt/2gDIaCt
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