Arthur, while saving the picture you uploaded I noticed that the file’s name is “F-16D_Sufa_vonkjes”, and that’s not a Sufa, that’s an IF-16D.

This really not the place to discuss about this falks. But I have something to say.
Last month I met (Israeli) Arabic students, about my age. It was really great. We talked about everything and got to know them. They are really great people, with great humor too.
Another example. In the news there was a Palestinian that the IDF had to demolish his house. He told the reporter that he is sad that these things must happen, and that he loves Israelis and worked 19 years in an Israeli Kibbutz. Turns out that people from that Kibbutz saw him on TV, and donated him money, so he would be able to rebuild his house.
People here have this opinion that the Israelis hate the Palestinians and the other way around. It’s really not true. And I’m telling that as a man that supports Sharon and the Likud. I’m all hope that Sharon’s disconnection plan will be realized soon, as the government voted to.
And please, no more politics here.

Speaking of Israeli Missiles,

Anyone here who knows about the origin of the Jericho ICBM´s?

Said to be made with France’s help.

Ohh, now it’s clear… Forget the Sufa here..

That is F-16C Block 30 from Military Aircrafts book (published by Salamander, IIRC)

I knew something was wrong here 😉

Sure.

BTW PII, did you got my massage?

Bet you haven’t seen that before

But two wingtanks, 1 belly tank, conformal and no weapons? Are they testing the range…

I wouldn’t think so… they just don’t have enough country for that 🙂

Somehow I never understood the principle of making first a lightweight agile fighter and then adding so much that the basic concept is totally gone. It is like making the F16 an aircraftcarrier plane… Or like making the Bis an interdiction plane… They have the Eagle… Why this?

Why?
Just because of money. And yeah, we too have budget problems. If it wasn’t up to money, the F-15I, or a newer model of it, would have been selected.
IMO, the F-16I will never be what the F-4 was. The F-15I though has the chance to be the Kurnass of the 2000s. And why? because the F-16 started as a small light weight fighter, while the F-15, like the Phantom, started as a pretty heavy interceptor, and later was more dedicated for ground attack.

PLA to answer your question I don’t believe there was enough money to get the required number of F-15I’s to replace the F-4E fleet in its entirety as well as the early F-16A/B models and the A-4’s and Kfir’s.

It’s actually more like this:
F-16s replacing the Kfirs and A-4s. It was actually only in 1994 that the IDF/AF got some ex-USAF F-16 A/Bs, and only then the Kfir C7 was replaced.
The F-15I was to serve alongside the F-4 for some years, and the next fighter bomber deal, that is the F-16I, was to replace it.