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Israel's F-16I fighters to go down a storm
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| 17 November 2003 |
By Alon Ben-David, JDW Correspondent, Tel Aviv
The Israel Air Force's (IAF's) first F-16I fighter was rolled out at Lockheed Martin's Fort Worth manufacturing facility, Texas, on 14 November, marking a new era in the service's operations of the multirole strike aircraft.
A total of 102 two-seat F-16Is will be delivered to Israel under two production contracts worth a combined $4.4 billion. The first aircraft will arrive early next year and subsequent deliveries will occur at a rate of two per month spanning about four years.
Acquired through the US government's Peace Marble V programme, the fighters will gradually replace the IAF's existing inventories of A-4 Skyhawk ground-attack and F-4 Phantom strike aircraft (Jane's Defence Weekly 30 April). The F-16 will provide the backbone of the air force's future strike capability - the latest acquisition brings to 362 the number of the aircraft delivered to the IAF. Dubbed the Soufa (Storm), the new aircraft will augment more than 230 F-16s now in service, as well as the IAF's fleet of more than 90 F-15-series fighters.
The F-16I's Pratt & Whitney F110-PW-229 engine will enable it to achieve a maximum take-off weight of 23,582kg "with a large inventory of modern weapons, both US- and Israeli-made", said Gen Shkedi.
The F-16I was selected in 1999 ahead of a follow-on buy of Boeing's multirole F-15I, 25 of which have been in Israeli service since 1998.
The F-16I is a further development of Lockheed Martin's advanced F-16 Block 50/52-series fighter, which has also been selected by Chile, Greece, Oman and Poland. The aircraft can be distinguished by its removable conformal fuel tanks (CFTs), which add 2,271 litres of fuel to the aircraft's internal load, increasing mission range and endurance and reducing dependence on inflight-refuelling aircraft. Use of the CFTs also frees up two wing stations, expanding the aircraft's air-to-surface weapons load. The aircraft also features a dorsal compartment containing mission avionics and chaff and flare dispensers, enabling it to conduct either pilot training or combat missions.
Northrop Grumman's AN/APG-68(V)9 multimode radar will enable crews to detect airborne threats from a range 30% greater than the existing APG-69 system and adds a synthetic-aperture radar mode for high-resolution ground mapping.
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| The first F-16I Soufa (Storm) for the Israel Air Force was unveiled on 14 November at Lockheed Martin's plant in Fort Worth, Texas (Source: Lockheed Martin) |