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Israeli air power traces its beginnings to November 1947, when the Haganah, a clandestine army formed before Israel declared its independence, collected all flyable aircraft to form the Sherut Avir, the Air Service. This early collection consisted of small and light airplanes, including the American Taylorcraft, British Auster, Polish RWD.8 and RWD.13, and twin-engined deHavilland Dragon Rapide.

Israel’s declaration of independence on 15 May 1948 led to a regional war. The new country’s embryonic air force was no match for its Arab foes. Fighter and transport aircraft from Egypt, Iraq, and Syria flew freely over the skies of Israel during the initial conflict. Furthermore, the fighting resulted in a US and British arms embargo on the whole of the Middle East. Israel, in turn, had to look for alternate sources of hardware for its defense.

Most aircraft were smuggled to the region from Europe during the war. These aircraft included Curtiss C-46 Commandos, Boeing B-17s, British Mosquitos, a Douglas DC-5, and some additional light planes. These aircraft were followed by twenty-five Avia S 199 fighters from Czechoslovakia.

The S 199, a Czech version of the Messerschmitt 109, was regarded by many as more dangerous to its pilot than to its adversaries. The aircraft was difficult to fly, underpowered, and poorly built. It frequently overturned during takeoffs and landings. Still, Israeli’s first fighters were pressed into immediate service in May 1948 to attack an armored column on the outskirts of Tel Aviv. A week later, an S 199 scored Israel’s first air-to-air victories after shooting down two Egyptian C-47 Dakotas performing aerial raids on Tel Aviv. The Israel Air Force, renamed the Heyl Havir, had arrived.

The IAF’s S 199s were followed by fifty World War II vintage Supermarine Spitfires, also from Czechoslovakia. (These aircraft, flown by free Czech pilots with Britain’s RAF during World War II, fell out of favor as the Soviets extended their influence over Eastern Europe after the war.) As the Spitfires arrived, the military balance in the Middle East shifted. Israel began to assume air superiority over its own land.

The War of Independence ended with a cease-fire in January 1949. During the early 1950s, British Spitfires and Mosquitos roamed Israeli skies. These airplanes were soon joined by North American P-51 Mustangs acquired from Sweden’s air force. The jet era dawned in Israel with the arrival of two Gloster Meteors from Britain in June 1953. Two years later, the first of many French jet fighters and fighter bombers to join the Israel Air Force came in the form of seventy-five Dassault Ouragans and sixty Mysteres.

War erupted in the Middle East again in October 1956 with the Sinai Campaign. Hours before the campaign by British, French, and Israeli forces began, Israeli P-51 Mustangs flew low across the Sinai desert and sliced Egyptian telephone lines with their propeller blades. As the battle waged, Israeli jets faced Egyptian MiG-15s and MiG-17s. Israel used its piston aircraft and jets to strafe roads and bomb enemy positions. Piper Cubs transported officers and conducted reconnaissance missions. Transport aircraft supplied troops behind enemy lines. Only fifteen Israeli aircraft were lost in the brief but intense campaign.

Soon after the 1956 war, the Israeli Ouragans were joined by Dassault Super-Mystere B-2s, SNCASO Vautour bombers, and Fouga Magister jet trainers. The V-tailed Magisters later became the first military aircraft built in Israel. Israel received its first Mach 2-capable fighter, the Mirage III, in April 1962. In the first dogfight between two supersonic aircraft, an Israeli Mirage III downed a Syrian MiG-21 in July 1966 over the Golan Heights.

In August 1966, an Iraqi defector landed a MiG-21 at an Israeli air base, providing Israel and the West with the first look at this Russian front-line fighter. The tension between Israel and its northern neighbor Syria was very high. Israeli pilots often encountered Syrian fighters in border disputes over the Golan Heights and the Sea of Galilee. One such encounter, on 7 April 1967, resulted in the downing of six MiG-21s by Israeli Mirage III fighters.

The aerial fighting was a prelude to the Six Days War. On the morning of 5 June 1967, all available IAF fighters and fighter-bombers flew low over the Mediterranean for a surprise attack on targets at front line Egyptian air force bases. Only twelve Mirages were left to defend Israeli airspace. After six hours of fierce and demanding air battles, the IAF commander Mordechai Hod informed his superiors that the Egyptian Air Force was neutralized. Iraqi, Jordanian, and the Syrian forces were engaged next by Israeli forces, which destroyed hundreds of fighters and bombers on the ground and in air battles. As a result of its surprise tactics, IAF fighters flew relatively unopposed in ground battles over the Sinai, the Golan Heights, and the West Bank.

France placed an arms embargo on Israel after the Six Days War. In turn, Israel looked to the United States for assistance. Egypt’s close ties with the Soviet Union provided an incentive for the United States to sell Israel military aircraft, which came in the form of A-4 Skyhawks and F-4 Phantoms. The Skyhawks arrived in late 1967. The new fighters could carry four times the payload of a Mirage III. The F-4 Phantom soon followed in 1969. The F-4 could fly farther, faster, and carry more weapons than any other fighter flown by the IAF to that point. Only a month after their arrival, F-4s were sent to attack SA-2 surface-to-air missile sites in the heart of Egypt. The F-4 became the main fighter during the War of Attrition with Egypt, Jordan, and Syria.

During this time, Israel also made plans to produce its own fighter. A production line was set up to manufacture the Nasher, an Israeli version of the Mirage V that entered service in 1972. The Israeli-built Kfir entered service in 1975. It was an improved variant of the Nasher with an updated General Electric J79 engine and more advanced avionics.

During the War of Attrition, which began in 1969, the IAF faced a powerful and complex network of top-of-the-line Soviet surface-to-air missile sites and hundreds of antiaircraft gun batteries. IAF raids into Egypt were often countered by showers of missiles and by deadly accurate gun barrages. The IAF lost many pilots in these attacks.

IAF pilots also faced Russian pilots who occasionally participated in the defense of Egyptian air space. Encounters between Russian and Israeli pilots reached a climax on 30 July 1970 when four Mirage IICs were sent to attack a radar base in the Nile Delta to draw the Russian pilots into the battle. At the same time, another four Mirages and four F-4s were lying in ambush at a very low altitude. The Russians sent two formations of four MiG-21s to shoot down the Mirages. A short time later, another dozen MiGs took off. In the ensuing air battle, five Russian-piloted planes were shot down. Almost 100 separate air battles took place during the War of Attrition. Israeli forces shot down eighty MiG-21s, twenty-two MiG-17s, seventeen Sukhoi 7s, and three Ilushin Il-28 bombers. Israel lost twenty-eight aircraft during the war, which ended in an uneasy peace in 1970.

France placed an arms embargo on Israel after the Six Days War. In turn, Israel looked to the United States for assistance. Egypt’s close ties with the Soviet Union provided an incentive for the United States to sell Israel military aircraft, which came in the form of A-4 Skyhawks and F-4 Phantoms. The Skyhawks arrived in late 1967. The new fighters could carry four times the payload of a Mirage III. The F-4 Phantom soon followed in 1969. The F-4 could fly farther, faster, and carry more weapons than any other fighter flown by the IAF to that point. Only a month after their arrival, F-4s were sent to attack SA-2 surface-to-air missile sites in the heart of Egypt. The F-4 became the main fighter during the War of Attrition with Egypt, Jordan, and Syria.

During this time, Israel also made plans to produce its own fighter. A production line was set up to manufacture the Nasher, an Israeli version of the Mirage V that entered service in 1972. The Israeli-built Kfir entered service in 1975. It was an improved variant of the Nasher with an updated General Electric J79 engine and more advanced avionics.

During the War of Attrition, which began in 1969, the IAF faced a powerful and complex network of top-of-the-line Soviet surface-to-air missile sites and hundreds of antiaircraft gun batteries. IAF raids into Egypt were often countered by showers of missiles and by deadly accurate gun barrages. The IAF lost many pilots in these attacks.

IAF pilots also faced Russian pilots who occasionally participated in the defense of Egyptian air space. Encounters between Russian and Israeli pilots reached a climax on 30 July 1970 when four Mirage IICs were sent to attack a radar base in the Nile Delta to draw the Russian pilots into the battle. At the same time, another four Mirages and four F-4s were lying in ambush at a very low altitude. The Russians sent two formations of four MiG-21s to shoot down the Mirages. A short time later, another dozen MiGs took off. In the ensuing air battle, five Russian-piloted planes were shot down. Almost 100 separate air battles took place during the War of Attrition. Israeli forces shot down eighty MiG-21s, twenty-two MiG-17s, seventeen Sukhoi 7s, and three Ilushin Il-28 bombers. Israel lost twenty-eight aircraft during the war, which ended in an uneasy peace in 1970.

F-16s arrived in Israel in July 1980. Nicknamed Nets for Falcon, the F-16 quickly formed the backbone of the IAF strike fighter force. The aircraft were put to use in the Osirak raid in Iraq less than a year after arriving. One year later, during the Peace of Galilee operation, F-16s took part in the elimination of Syrian surface-to-air missile sites in the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon. Over thirty sites were destroyed after only two days of missions.

After the air-to-ground attacks, IAF F-16 pilots switched to air-to-air mode and engaged Syrian MiG-21 and MiG-23 fighters. Twenty-seven Syrian MiGs were shot down in the concentrated air engagements that consumed the next three days. Not one Israeli aircraft was lost. During the ensuing three months of fighting, the Syrians lost almost 100 aircraft. The only Israeli losses were a medevac helicopter, an A-4 Skyhawk, and a reconnaissance F-4 Phantom.

Israel has added to its initial order of seventy-five F-16s through the years, acquiring seventy five Block 30 F-16s in the late 1980s and sixty Block 40 F-16s in the early 1990s. Fifty more Block 10 F-16s were supplied to Israel in the mid-1990s from USAF surplus following the Gulf War.

IAF F-16s fall into four main versions: the Pratt & Whitney F100-powered F-16A, which is used for attack and for operational training squadrons; the Pratt & Whitney-powered F-16B, which is used for training and conversion courses; the General Electric F110-powered F-16C, which is used for both attack and air-superiority; and highly modified two-seat F-16Ds (also F110-powered), which are used for all-weather, night attack. Later-model F-16s are called Barak, Lightning. Later-model two-seat versions are called Brakeet, Thunderbolt.

The Gulf War was a frustrating experience for the IAF. Israeli pilots remained on the ground as several dozen Iraqi Scud missiles were launched at Israel, destroying homes and devastating areas in several cities. The experience highlighted a need for a capability to respond to long range surface-to-surface threats. Immediately after the war, Israel requested F-15Es to deal with these threats and eventually bought the F-15I in 1994 (deliveries began this year). The F-15I Raam, Thunder, is used for long-range all-weather interdiction operations.

To continue its fifty years of air-superiority, Israel is currently considering new aircraft to replace aging portions of its fighter fleet. About 100 fighters are expected to be retired from 2000 to 2005. The two primary candidates for these replacements are the F-15 and the F-16. The winner of this competition will enter service in 2001 and will serve as a front line fighter for the IAF well into the new millennium.