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A Colombian Aerospace Force Kfir, from the 111th Combat Squadron | |
Role | Fighter-bomber, multirole combat aircraft |
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National origin | Israel |
Manufacturer | Israel Aircraft Industries |
First flight | June 1973 |
Introduction | 1976 |
Status | Active |
Primary users | Israeli Air Force (historical) United States Navy (historical) Colombian Aerospace Force Sri Lanka Air Force |
Number built | 220+ |
Developed from | Dassault Mirage 5 IAI Nesher |
Variants | IAI Nammer |
The Israel Aircraft Industries Kfir (Hebrew: כְּפִיר, "Lion Cub") is an Israeli all-weather multirole combat aircraft based on the French Dassault Mirage 5, with Israeli avionics and an Israeli-built version of the General Electric J79 turbojet engine.
The Kfir programme originated in the quest to develop a more capable version of the IAI Nesher, which was already in series production. After General De Gaulle embargoed the sale of arms to Israel, the IAF feared that it might lose qualitative superiority over its adversaries in the future, which were receiving increasingly advanced Soviet aircraft. The main and most advanced type of aircraft available to the IAF was the Mirage, but a severe problem developed due to the Mirage fleet's depletion due to attrition after the Six-Day War. Domestic production would avoid the problem of the embargo completely; efforts to reverse engineer and reproduce components of the Mirage were aided by Israeli espionage efforts to obtain technical assistance and blueprints from third party Mirage operators.
Ceiling
MAX RANGE
Aircraft Speed
Max Crew
Since the J79 turbojet engine is an U.S. design, although manufactured under license in Israel, all export sales of the Kfir are subject to prior approval being granted by the U.S. State Department, a fact that has limited the sale of the Kfir to foreign nations.
The F-21 Kfir fighter jet is a single-seat multitask fighter built by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI
The F-21 Kfir fighter jet is a single-seat multitask fighter built by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI