According to the newspaper, the Israeli Air Force plans to purchase an additional 50 aircraft in the future, some of them with vertical take-off and landing capabilities.

Meanwhile, Israel has intensified its efforts to prevent deliveries of Russian S-300 air defence systems to Iran under a 2007 contract.

Israel and the US insist that the delivery of advanced air defence systems to Iran would undermine the military balance in the region, and Russia has until recently delayed the implementation of the deal.

Although Russian sources said in March that Iran had not yet received any S-300 air defence systems and the deal needed approval from the Russian leadership, Moscow has reiterated its commitment to fulfill the contract, which is worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

The S-300 air defence system has a range of up to 195 km and can intercept aircraft and ballistic missiles at altitudes from 10 meters to 27 km.

It is considered one of the world's most effective all-altitude regional air defence systems, comparable in performance to the US MIM-104 Patriot system.

--RIA Novosti

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