Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Monday that the government’s plan to acquire two fighter squadrons from the United States preserves and ensures the superior capabilities of the Israeli Air Force “ahead of future missions.”

An additional F-35 squadron and a second F-15IA squadron are part of the “Israel Shield” program advanced by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and senior defense officials, Katz added.

The move marks “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-shekel budget (approximately $95 billion),” the Israeli Defense Ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

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