F-16I "Sufa" Thread

Sorry about starting a new thread, but the previous one was getting bogged down in politics. From today’s Jerusalem Post, notice there’s finally a mention of a squadron – “Negev” Sqn, and a base – Ramon :

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1068697370721

Nov. 14, 2003
Israel gets new F-16I fighter/bomber
By ARIEH O’SULLIVAN

Pilots of the newest F-16I long-range fighter/bomber which is to roll off the assembly line in Texas Friday are itchy to get their hands on the $45 million jet.

Aerospace giant Lockheed Martin delivers the first F-16I at its plant here Friday to an Israeli delegation led by Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, fresh from his talks in Washington.

The rollout ceremony marks the interim phase in this $4.5 billion dollar deal, the largest arms deal ever taken in the history of the state. Lockheed Martin won the tender, beating rival Boeing, in 1999 to supply 102 of the advanced fighter jets which are aimed at strengthening the IAF’s long reach, being able to reach nations like Iran and Libya.

The aircraft have been supplemented to Israel’s specifications and are different from any other F-16, even in the service of the US Air Force. They are being paid for from the annual US military grants given to Israel, which this year stands at about $2.2 billion.

The next phase is transporting the jets to Israel. The first is expected to arrive next month and gradually the whole squadron will be in place at the Ramon base deep in the Negev. A total of three squadrons will be delivered by 2008.

“We have not flown them yet,” said Lt.-Col. A., commander of the “Negev” squadron “We went through a conversion course in the United States and we flew the simulator. But we will only fly the real thing when it comes to the country. But after we flew the simulator we got real itchy to get in the cockpit and fly it already.”

Lt.-Col. A. was plucked from his command of an F-15 squadron to command the new jet squadron. He said the Air Force gave him top priority in assembling the IAF’s top aviators and ground crews to receive the new jets.

‘This is a jet that doesn’t exist elsewhere. We did not buy a jet that has experience in the US air force. This means that we will reach maturity in stages and it will take a while for the squadron to ripen and the jet reaches its full capacities,” the 36-year-old squadron leader said.

“We don’t’ think about the price of the jet in terms of dollars, but in the defense of the state of Israel,” he told The Jerusalem Post. “We do understand how much the country is investing in this and not just the platform, but also in the development of the south (where the F-16I squadrons will be based and families relocated)

“My hope is for us to be the spearhead of the IAF,” Lt.-Col. A said.

With the arrival of the 102 F-16Is, Israel will have a total of 362 of the jets – the largest fleet in any country in the world behind the United States. The F-16s are the backbone of the IAF, but these new “I” models will give added punch to the long-range capabilities of the IAF and will complement the squadron of F-15Is Israel received in the end of the 1990s.

The Air Force has nicknamed the F-16I as “Sufa,” or thunderstorm. It has a 820 non-refueling radius of operation.

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