The Israeli Air Force recognized early that the troubled Autonomic Logistics Information System (ALIS)—the centralized cloud-based maintenance system designed to support all F-35 operations—would not meet their operational needs, especially during large-scale conflicts. As o
ne Israeli Air Force officer explained in 2016: “The ingenious, automated ALIS system that Lockheed Martin has built will be very efficient and cost-effective. But the only downfall is that it was built for countries that don’t have missiles falling on them.”
Israel’s F-35I aircraft operate with a distinct configuration that is not dependent on ALIS, and Israel remains the only F-35 operator authorized to install entire suites of domestically-developed software and perform completely independent depot-level maintenance. This independence has proven crucial during combat operations, where Israel has demonstrated the ability to maintain high sortie rates even under intense operational tempo.