Israel receives new fighter aircraft

Israel has taken delivery from the United States of two advanced fighter aircraft capable of reaching targets anywhere in the Middle East without having to refuel.

They are the first of a batch of twenty-five new fighter-bombers, the F-Fifteen-I, which the Americans are supplying to the Israelis.

The total cost will be just over two billion dollars.

The BBC defence correspondent says they're intended to counter the perceived threat from outlying potential enemies such as Iraq and Iran, both of which are equipped with long-range missiles.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service