The brand new israeli F-16I! what a buty!!

[liran_bar]

Hi all!
The new F-16I rolled out last week... and I gotta say! it is goddam beautiful!!!!
The basic editiond are:
50% more capcity in the internal fuel tank.
Much more safisticated and improved cockpit and avionics (mostly made by Israel Aircraft Industries [IAI] and rafael).

Israel has decided to buy 102 of these machines (mostly developed by Israel) from Lockheed Martin. This is the biggest deal in the Israeli Defence Force history and it will expand the IAF fleet (withing the following 5 years) to more than 300 F-16s (including the F-16I- which isn't really an F-16), thus, making the Israeli Air Force bigger than Britains and many other countries.

You can read more about the beauty on:
http://www.israeli-weapons.com
http://www.israeli-weapons.com/weapons/aircraft/f-16i/F-16I.html


Here are some pics (check out that cockpit!):


















Enjoy!


Liran Bar

[Felix/FFDS]

eeehhhh.... just a copy of the Chinese J-10, slightly modified..

[liran_bar]

LOL.....
well since I never heard of the J-10... so I started lookin on the web.... when suddenly I see a scatch of the plane..... I was shocked to find out that it is just a copy of the beatiful IAI LAVI!!!!!!!!!!!!!! bu fortunately... right before I through me keyboard out the window... I noticed they got help from Israeli engineers that worked on the lavi.... that make it alright


Liran Bar

[Felix/FFDS]

I'm glad you didn't take the bait I set for you and followed up ..

sigh, I've got to take a hiatus, my (il)logic is becoming too transparent...

[Ivan]

WTF did they do with those CFT pods on the side...

will this 'oh we forgot that sensor, just put it on the outside' model be the final one or do they plan to get some of those humps inside...

What kind of ejection seat is in it? Zvezda K36?

im sorry to say this, but the F-16 line really strats to look like the BF109 in this way: need bigger gun/sensor/fueltank -> make hump

[Felix/FFDS]

Ivan - you have a point, it does look like that F-16 is on steroids...

[liran_bar]

WTF did they do with those CFT pods on the side...

will this 'oh we forgot that sensor, just put it on the outside' model be the final one or do they plan to get some of those humps inside...

What kind of ejection seat is in it? Zvezda K36?

im sorry to say this, but the F-16 line really strats to look like the BF109 in this way: need bigger gun/sensor/fueltank -> make hump

well I don't know about the two PODs but the two humps on the sides are the additional fuel tanks.
The middle hump is nothing new with the f-16I.... it exists in all the F-16Ds owned by the IAF... It is meant to improve the airflow over the fuslage.


Liran Bar

[Mr. Bones]

the fuselage looks strange behind the cockpit...looks like a F-4 at first sight  ;)

[pilotjj1]

Isn't the conformal fuel tanks a feature of the F-16E/F? How come the F-16I (suppose to be based on the F-16D) have it.

[Felix/FFDS]

Isn't the conformal fuel tanks a feature of the F-16E/F? How come the F-16I (suppose to be based on the F-16D) have it.

They're add-ons ... while I don't have the details, I wouldn't be surprised to find out that IAI participated in the engineering of the CFT.

Remember, by this stage, the F-16 is being reworked by Lockheed, IAI, Mitsubishi, etc. - it's about as American as a Ford....

[Erez]

The CFTs are not only planned jointly with Lockheed, they are produced in the IAI.

[Sobby]

I can understand the fuel pods on the fuselage, but what is the dorsal spine for  ???

[Felix/FFDS]

[quote]I can understand the fuel pods on the fuselage, but what is the dorsal spine for

[Sobby]

ah, of course, what every jet fighter needs, lol

[Wing Nut]

Complementing the upgraded weapon systems is a dorsal compartment containing enhanced mission avionics and chaff and flare dispensers, enabling it to conduct either pilot training or combat missions. In addition, removable conformal fuel tanks (CFTs) have been added along the fuselage and above the wing roots, freeing-up underwing hard points for additional armaments. The F-16I has an unrefueled combat strike radius well in excess of 500 miles. The extended flight range allows Israeli forces to attack targets well within Iran and Libya without having to refuel. In addition, the cockpit of the F-16I has been expanded to provide for the addition of an onboard weapons officer situated behind the pilot. It has a 820 non-refueling radius of operation.

Why not?