Defense

Netanyahu Expands Defense Independence Plan With Israeli Fighter Jet Directive

Published

Courtroom-sketch editorial illustration of Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump seated together in the Oval Office with a model aircraft in the foreground

A senior Israeli official said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed Israel's defense sector to develop a modern fighter aircraft within a decade as part of a plan for greater defense independence. The official said Netanyahu told President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and envoy Steve Witkoff that he wants U.S. military aid reduced to zero within 10 years. Netanyahu proposed a new memorandum with $16 billion in direct aid, $5 billion to $10 billion for missile-defense development, and a $16 billion joint weapons-research fund. Israel's Defense Ministry says formal talks are already shifting the relationship from aid toward mutual partnership and joint production.

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