IAI Lavi

The IAI Lavi (Hebrew: לביא, "Young Lion") was a single-engined fourth-generation multirole jet fighter developed in Israel during the 1980s. Developed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), the choice to develop the Lavi was controversial, both with the Israeli public due to the enormous associated costs and particularly with the U.S. government due to competition with American jets on the export market. By 1984 Israel, with a population of 4 million at the time, had the highest military expenditure as a proportion of GDP in the world, at 24% of the country's economy, a rate of spending considered unsustainable. These issues contributed to the ultimate cancellation of the aircraft during the flight testing phase of development by the Israeli government in August 1987.

The Lavi performed successfully in flight-tests, with its flight handling described as "excellent" by test pilots. The Lavi was planned to be the mainstay of the Israeli Air Force, and considerable export sales for the aircraft had been forecast. The uniqueness of its design was in the combination of a small, aerodynamic, highly maneuverable plane, with sophisticated, software-rich systems, low armed drag, and the ability to carry a large payload at high speed and over long distances. As of 2012, two of the prototypes have been preserved, and have been placed on public display. The Israeli cabinet's late-stage cancellation of the program, by a 12-11 vote, continued to arouse controversy and bitterness in Israel for decades, with Moshe Arens stating in 2013 that if the project had not been cancelled the IAF "would be operating the world's most advanced fighter, upgraded over the years to incorporate operational experience and newer technology.

Related Development

 * IAI Nammer

Comparable Aircraft

 * CAC/PAC JF-17 Thunder
 * Chengdu J-10 Vigorous Dragon
 * General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon
 * Mitsubishi F-2 Viper Zero
 * HAL Tejas
 * Saab JAS 39 Gripen