Israel announced the maiden flight and imminent delivery of the new KC-46 “Gideon” tanker, a day after the announcement of the procurement of an additional squadron of F-35Is and one of F-15IAs.
The Israeli Ministry of Defense has announced on May 4, 2026, the maiden flight in the U.S. of its new KC-46 tanker. The tanker, which will be designated as “Gideon” by the Israeli military, is set to be delivered in approximately a month, according to a statement on LinkedIn.
The aircraft is the first of six KC-46s that are being procured by Israel. The statement further mentions that the tanker “will be equipped with Israeli systems and adapted to the operational requirements of the Israeli Air Force, enabling it to extend operational range and maintain air superiority across all theaters.”
This is in line with Israel’s policy of heavily customizing platforms procured abroad with systems produced by its own defense industry. Notably, Israel is the only operator that has been granted the permission to modify the F-35 Lightning II, which resulted in the F-35I Adir.
The announcement comes a day after the Israeli MoD said the Ministerial Committee on Procurement approved the acquisition of two additional fighter squadrons. These will be divided in a F-35 squadron (the fourth overall) and an F-15IA squadron (the second).
“The deals, valued at tens of billions of NIS, include full fleet integration into the Israeli Air Force, comprehensive sustainment, spare parts, and logistics support,” said a statement. ”This is the first step in executing the IDF’s decade-long force buildup plan, approved by the Prime Minister and Defense Minister under a dedicated 350-billion-NIS budget.”
Following the approval, the MoD will now move forward to finalize the agreements with the U.S., which will see the aircraft acquired through the Foreign Military Sale (FMS) path. While the number of the aircraft has not been mentioned, recent acquisitions – including the first F-15IA squadron – saw Israel procure 25 aircraft for each squadron.
KC-46 for Israel
The U.S. State Department approved a Foreign Military Sale (FMS) of the KC-46 Pegasus tanker to Israel in 2020. The approval included up to eight tankers for an estimated price of $2.4 billion.
In 2021, the Israeli government approved the acquisition, clearing the way for the negotiations. A year later, Boeing was awarded a contract worth $930 million for the first four KC-46s, with deliveries expected by 2026.
Reports in 2025 mentioned that Israel was looking to increase the order, and thus two more KC-46 were procured. At this stage, it is unclear if the KC-46 will be further increased or it will remain at six airframes.
The KC-46 will replace Israel Boeing 707 “Re’em” tankers that have been operating for around 60 years. According to available information, six 707s are currently in service with the Israeli Air Force, making the KC-46 acquisition a one-for-one replacement.
The F-15IA
The sale of the newest F-15 variant to Israel has been reported in the making for long. The Israeli government already showed interest in the F-15EX in 2020, when acquiring more F-35s and F-15s was put among the top priorities.
Initially only 25 aircraft were requested, although it was reported that they could be increased to 50. The sale of the MLU modification kits was also expected, as Israel requested the upgrade of its 25 F-15I Ra’am to an avionic configuration similar to the F-15EX.
The Israeli Ministry of Defense sent an official Letter of Request to the United States government in 2023, describing a need for 25 airframes. In 2024, the FMS was approved, with the aircraft named as F-15IA (Israel Advanced).
At the time, the DSCA notice mentioned that Israel requested the sale of up to 50 F-15IA, together with 25 MLU modification kits. In the end, in December 2025, Israel signed a contract worth up to $8.5 billion to acquire 25 aircraft.
The deliveries, according to Israel, were planned to start in 2031, with the contract notice now mentioning the work is to be completed by 2035. It is unclear if Israel has still intention to procure the MLU kits at a later date, since they were not included in the contract.
Following the recent approval by the Israeli Ministerial Committee on Procurement, Israel will now work to acquire the remaining 25 aircraft that were included in the FMS, bringing the fleet’s total to 50 F-15IAs.
The F-35I
Israel has a long history with the F-35, becoming the first operator to sign a Letter of Agreement for the FMS in 2010. At the time, the government acquired 50 aircraft, which equipped two squadrons at Nevatim AB (Air Base), in the Negev Desert, starting from 2016.
The FMS included an option for 25 more aircraft, whose procurement was later approved in 2023 for $3 billion. The deliveries of these aircraft are expected to start in in 2027, although some reports mention this might have been delayed to 2028.
With the recent approval, Israel is now set to further increase its F-35 fleet to 100 aircraft. Since the initial FMS included up to 75 aircraft, it is likely that Israel will have to wait for the approval of a new FMS first.
As mentioned in our previous reporting, Israel has modified its F-35s, now designated as F-35Is. In fact, the IAF has always integrated its own weapons and systems (especially EW systems) on its foreign-built aircraft to satisfy the country’s operational needs.
The full extent of the modifications is unclear, but they are known to include an improved Electronic Warfare suite and other Israeli classified systems. However, with the F-35I the IAF does not have access to everything, as happens for the other countries, thus the U.S. might have imposed a limit on the modifications that Israel would be allowed to make.
