Lockheed Martin F-16I Sufa
The Lockheed Martin F-16I Sufa is a two-seat variant of the Lockheed Martin F-16C/D-52 Fighting Falcon developed for the Israeli Air Force. Israel issued a requirement in September 1997 and selected the F-16 in preference to the F-15I Ra'am in July 1999. An initial "Peace Marble V" contract was signed on January 14th 2000 with a follow-on contract signed on December 19th 2001, for a total procurement of 102 aircraft. The F-16I, which is called Sufa (Storm) by the IDF/AF, first flew on December 23rd 2003, and deliveries to the IDF/AF began on February 19th 2004. The F-16I has an estimated unit cost of approximately US$70 million (2006).
One major deviation of the F-16I from the Block 52 is that approximately 50% of the avionics were replaced by Israeli-developed avionics, such as the Israeli Aerial Towed Decoy replacing the ALE-50 and autonomous aerial combat maneuvering instrumentation, which enables training exercises to be conducted without dependence on ground instrumentation. Elbit Systems produced the aircraft's helmet-mounted sight, head-up display (HUD), mission and presentation computers, and digital map display. Furthermore, the F-16I can employ Rafael's Python 5 infrared-guided air-to-air missile, and often uses Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI)'s removable conformal fuel tanks (CFT) for extended range. Key American-sourced systems include the F100-PW-229 turbofan engine, which offers commonality with the IDF/AF's F-15Is, and the APG-68(V)9 radar.
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- Israel
- Israeli Air Force x 102
