The Lavi might have challenged the F-16, but the project was abandoned as being too costly given other military priorities at the time. Well, today the best the US will offer is the F-35, suggesting the US no longer knows how to build a great fighter. Perhaps Israel, working with India, can come up with something better. Perhaps Japan, which like Israel was denied the F-22, would be interested in such a project.

good idea, except that russia and india have already developed a joint 5th gen fighter, the pak-fa. trouble is, israel can't buy it (or develop its own) with american military aid dollars. it would probably suit israel better than the f-35, in terms of cost, capabilities (the iaf's potential enemies are not sophisticated - iran is still using f-4s), and flexibility (israel will not have access to the f-35's software, and the americans won't be adding major weapons until 2022). whereas with israeli avionics, the pak-fa would be a formidable system. and there is always the possibility of co-production. but it ain't gonna happen.

Russia is quickly sinking economically, militarily, democratically, politically, demographically and morally. It even needs Israel's permission and cooperation to intervene in the Middle East. Brazil is already at the bottom under a communist leadership. China has it coming great social unrest due to poor economic performance and on ethnic grounds. Once great power Apartheid SA is run into the ground by an incompetent and most corrupt Black regime. India is the only one rising at the moment but it started from a very low point and has a long way to go before becoming of any global significance. Israel is in a permanent high League of its own. It should not join any temporary wannabes such as BRICS.