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Israel Doubles Lockheed-Martin F-16I
Order
Additional
Fighter Purchase Marks Shift in Regional
Strategy
Israel has chosen the F-16 to be the backbone of its
fighter fleet for the next 20 years or more. In early
September 2001, Israel exercised an amendment to a
January 2000 contract with Lockheed Martin to purchase
an additional 52 F-16I-series aircraft on top of the 50
purchased in January 2000. The buy reinforced a trend in
that has seen increased funding for power projection and
strategic defense needs. The total price tag will be over $4 billion, of
which Lockheed Martin's share is about $3 billion; the
remaining billion dollars covering the cost of the
avionics being supplied by Israeli firms.
The
acquisition will proceed as a buy-now, pay-later deal
that will drain much of Israel's $1.8 billion per year
U.S. military aid account for the next five years. The
newly ordered planes are to be delivered between
2006-2009 and the agreement covers the aircraft,
logistics, support, training and other services for
Israel. All of the internal avionic equipment for the
aircraft will be supplied by Israeli companies; orders
have already been signed with the Lahav division of
Israel Aircraft Industries. The purchases will replace
Israel's remaining stock of older Boeing F-15 Eagles in
service since 1976, advanced multi-role Lockheed Martin
F-16A/B series in service since 1980, multi-role F-4E
Phantoms in service since 1969, and multi-role A-4
Skyhawks in service since 1967. 
The first F-16s are to be delivered in 2003
and these recent purchases push Lockheed Martin's
program backlog to over 250 aircraft as of July 2001.
This official agreement came after the Israeli Ministry
of Defense and Lockheed Martin reached an agreement in
principle for the sale at the 1999 Paris Air Show.
The F-16I-series has a two-seat cockpit configuration
with advanced avionic technologies, new weapons, and
improved Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-229 engines and is
similar to the F-16D model in service with the USAF. The
aircraft are equipped with FLIR (forward-looking
infrared) viewers, for target designation, and features
increased external fuel capacity in conformal fuel
tanks, increasing the aircraft range to 800 miles (1,500
km). These systems give the F-16s new combat
capabilities including simultaneous, multi-target
air-to-air intercept, standoff, all-weather precision
strike and enhanced survivability against the most
advanced threats. It is expected that the Israelis will
equip the F-16s with the advanced RAFAEL Derby
medium-range air-to-air missile and the RAFAEL Python-4
short-range air-to-air missile. The Derby is a
radar-guided missile similar to the American AIM-120
AMRAAM. Advanced radar seeker performance enables the
engagement of several targets from short ranges to
beyond visual range. The Python-4, widely considered to
be the finest heat-seeking missile in the world, is
capable of engaging targets within a wider area than the
current U.S. AIM-9 Sidewinder. 
Cost
is one of the primary factors driving the popularity of
Lockheed Martin's F-16 relative to Boeing's twin-engine
F-15 Eagle. The delivery cost of an F-15I is about $84
million. According to Aviation Week, late-model F-16s
run approximately $33 million each including U.S.
supplied avionics. In open competitions, the F-16 has
been selected in 67 percent of the decisions; repeat
orders have accounted for 75 percent of all sales. In
the last five years, the F-16 has accounted for all
American fighter export orders. "We are grateful to the
government of Israel for this continued expression of
confidence in the F-16 and our company," stated Dain M.
Hancock, president of Lockheed Martin Tactical Aircraft
Systems in Fort Worth. "Israel is a long-term F-16
customer that has both contributed to and benefited from
the continual evolution of our product as the world's
premier multi-role fighter." As a result of the
new purchases, Israel operates the second largest fleet
of F-16s in the world behind only the United States. The
country has received or ordered more than 300 Fighting
Falcons, including the most recent order. "This order is
another significant development that continues the long
heritage of cooperative program between the government
of Israel and Lockheed Martin Corporation," said Amos
Yaron, Director General of the Israeli Ministry of
Defense. "It reinforces the significant defense
capability provided by Israel's Air Force, which relies
on the F-16 as the backbone of its fighter aircraft
fleet." The modernization of Israel's Air Force
continues to be a major priority for the Israeli defense
forces. Although there is urgency to phase out the aging
Israeli aircraft like the A-4 and the F-4, most of the
planes currently in operation are modern and capable.
All 102 of the new F-16s should be fully operational by
2008; by that time most of the older aircraft will have
been retired. The ultimate goal is to modernize the most
critical defense equipment; the Ministry of Defense is
looking into buying additional missile boats for the
Navy and more advanced electronics, and intelligence
equipment for the Air Force. 
Although the Air Force continues to be
the primary focus of the Israeli Defense Forces,
revisions are being made in the budgeting for much of
the military equipment. The reorganization of spending
priorities will take place in the next five years. The
Ministry of Defense has wanted to update its naval
forces for some time but that spending, with the
exception of the new missile boats, will be pushed back
to provide for the funding of the aircraft. Other areas
undergoing a funding increase include include readiness
and training, intelligence, long reach capabilities, and
missile defense programs. When asked if there
would be a shift in the Israeli defense policy as a
result of the recent terrorist attacks on the United
States, Dr. Yossi Draznin, Director of the Industrial
Cooperation Authority of the Ministry of Defense at the
Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C. replied "No. The
relationship between Israel and the United States is
unfaltering. There will be no policy change as a direct
result of the attacks." Dr. Draznin asserted that there
is a new urgency in the situation because of these
attacks, and the Israeli defense forces are not yet
fully modernized. "There is more pressure now on Israel
to be able to protect itself sooner as opposed to
later." Many of the new budget changes being
made over the next five years provide for immediate
needs over long-term projects. There is growing concern
about Iranian-backed Hizballah guerrillas in southern
Lebanon and border disputes, although there are still
provisions for the continuation of conflict with the
Palestinian Authority. The Israeli Ministry of Defense
asserts that pressure is building because of a
simultaneous need to modernize defense forces and
missile defense systems as well as to maintain
preparedness for a full-scale regional war. -
by Editorial Assistant Jess Altschul.
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