The UAE’s plans to buy the F-35 now seem rocky, with the Emirates threatening to pull out of the agreement.
By Valerie Insinna and Riad Kahwaji
F-35A
Two weeks ago, the Iranians claimed that an Iranian air defense test on in the Natanz area near one of their centrifuges complex caused a large explosion heard in a vast area. But since the official announcement, Middle Eastern and Gulf media outlets have claimed that unmanned aerial vehicles penetrated Iran’s airspace, and were not shot down by air defense systems.
According to the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Qabas, more than five reconnaissance UAVs penetrated Iranian airspace, and the Iranian missile system “Bavar 373” and the Russian S-300 air defense systems failed to shoot them down. While Israel has not claimed responsibility, the assumption in regional defense circles is that Jerusalem was behind the flights, perhaps as a test of Iran’s air defenses.