The Israeli Air Force would rather buy more F-15 Eagle fighters than the latest and greatest F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. It may be an older plane, but the F-15 apparently offers Israel more flexibility, particularly when striking its mortal enemy: Iran.

According to Aviation Week & Space Technology, Israel is dividing its airpower into two categories: jets that can strike targets just over the border in Lebanon and Syria, and jets that could hit distant but important targets such as Iran’s nuclear program. Israel has the F-35 for the former task, and it is building a strike force of F-15s for the latter. Although the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter has stealth and sensors capable of picking up targets on the ground, it doesn’t have the range to strike targets up to a thousand miles away in Iran.

Israel has had a nearly 40-year love affair with the F-15. It was one of the first countries to receive the Eagle and was the first to use it in action. The F-15 provides an impressive combination of power and range, allowing Israel to strike targets beyond the reach of most air forces. And because it's a large fighter, it has room to add new systems as necessary. Israel’s defense industry has a long history of supporting the aircraft and creating upgrades to give the country’s Eagles a decisive edge.

Israeli F-35 "Adir". Getty Images

The F-35, on the other hand, can only do so much for Israel. The country's version, called Adir (“Mighty”), has a locally built command, control, communications, computer, and intelligence (C4I) system built into it at the factory. But the new jet’s relatively small size makes further upgrades difficult. Some upgrades would need to be stored externally, and that would make the aircraft much more detectable by hostile radars. Israeli engineers are also limited in the extent to which they can interact with the plane’s highly advanced and classified electronics.

AvWeek says Israel would prefer pausing its F-35 purchase plans at the current 50 jets, and order the remaining 25 only after buying more F-15s. Israel would like to order 20 to 25 new F-15s built to something like the new F-15 2040C standard. The 2040C jets are equipped with the AN/APG-63(V)3 AESA radar, long-range infrared search-and-track sensor, and the ability to carry up to 16 AMRAAM medium-range air-to-air missiles. The Israeli version would also carry a data link pod for sharing data with other aircraft.

Israel isn't alone in realizing that modern stealth fighters, particularly the F-35, are not a “one size fits all” solution to aerial warfare. There are times when an older aircraft, properly updated, is actually preferable. For years to come, air forces will be a blend of stealthy and non-stealthy warplanes that complement one another.

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io