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Protecting Israel's Qualitative Military Edge after F-35 Sale to UAE

(Defense Post) Maj.-Gen. (ret.) Yaakov Amidror - The sale of F-35 jets to the United Arab Emirates underscores the imperative of maintaining Israel's qualitative military edge (QME) and of ensuring that problematic regional actors do not get access to such advanced technologies. The QME doctrine is a cornerstone of Israel's national security philosophy. The Jewish state, home to nine million people, is surrounded by hundreds of millions of Arab neighbors - too many of whom remain unfortunately hostile to its existence. There are creative ways to protect Israel's QME while allowing the UAE to obtain the jets. For instance, some of the F-35's software systems can be reserved for Israeli use. The U.S. could also elevate Israel's information-sharing clearance to overcome classification barriers that impede cooperation; pursue joint R&D ventures, akin to the development of the Arrow and David's Sling missile defense systems; and frontload defense assistance that has already been agreed to under the 10-year memorandum of understanding signed in 2016. The writer was the national security adviser to the prime minister of Israel and head of the National Security Council.
2020-11-26 00:00:00
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