Three Advanced F-16C fighter bombers flown by American pilots, landed at an airbase “somewhere in Israel” Monday after a flight from Texas. They are the latest additions to the Israel Air Force and the first of 75 such aircraft ordered by Israel at a cost of $3 billion.
A welcoming group at the air base was headed by Premier Yitzhak Shamir, Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin, Air Force Commander Gen. Amos Lapidot and other senior officers. Shamir said these planes and those to follow will make an “important contribution to defending Israel’s goals.”
Their sale to Israel, the only country apart from the U.S. to have the F-16C, was an expression of the firm bonds of friendship between Israel and the U.S., Shamir said. He added, “The U.S. knows that we are in the forefront of the defense of democracy in this part of the world.”
The F-16C, manufactured by General Dynamics, is an improved version of the F-16A and F-16B which have been in the Israel Air Force since 1980 and already tested in combat, including clashes with Syrian MIGs.
MORE ADVANCED AND POWERFUL
The F-16C, called the “Fighting Falcon,” is a single-seater plane. It and its two seat counterpart, the F-16D which is among the 75 to be delivered to Israel, are powered by General Electric F110engines which are more powerful than the Pratt and Whitney F100 engines which propel the F-16A and B.
The new planes have better electric and electronic systems and carry a heavier load of bombs and missiles. The manufacturer has incorporated highly sophisticated equipment developed in Israel, including air frame, a computer memory and advanced radar.
The aircraft are priced at about $40 million each and are considered a rival to the Lavi Israel’s second generation fighter plane designed and built by Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI). The U.S. has been urging Israel to abandon the Lavi project on grounds of excessive costs and the advanced F-16s have been proposed by the Pentagon as an alternative. The Lavi prototype had its first test flights last month.
Lapidot said, after accepting the three F-16Cs, that the Air Force would go ahead with its preparations to absorb the Lavi but would continue to fly the F-16s. He said he personally thought that the Israel Air Force should have both a locally produced plane and imported aircraft.
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