[mupuff1234]

So the US basically got billions and billions worth of F-35 R&D for the price of 2B?

Sounds like a decent deal to me.

[belter]

You completely misunderstood the money flow....

[mupuff1234]

You completely miss the fact that the same R&D Israel has done would have cost 100x more if it were done by US based companies.

The US gains massive cheap R&D and real world tested capabilities for a fraction of the price it would pay domestically.

Now you could argue about the moral implications, but money wise it's a great deal.

[belter]

Except that is not what is happening:

"...To sweeten the deal, Lockheed Martin said it would buy parts and systems for the F-35 from Israeli companies at a cost of $4 billion..."

What is funny thing to say, since Israel, unlike the other nations, never supported the development costs of the F-35 program :-)