Information supplied and copyrighted
by Joe Baugher
General Dynamics F-16I
Fighting Falcon
Last revised April 1,
2000
In July of 1999, Israel announced that it
would like to order 50 multi-role F-16Is. This announcement was a disappointment to
Boeing, since they hoped to sell Israel more F-15Is. The F-16I for Israel will be based on
current Block 50/52 production aircraft and will be equipped with the Northrop Grumman
AN/APG-68(V)X fire control radar. The F-16I contract will also include Lockeed Martin
LANTIRN navigation and targeting pods. The planes will also be provided with Israeli-built
equipment to make them compatible with the Raytheon Python 4 AAM and the Popeye 2 ASM.
Initially, the Israeli government did not
specify whether the F-16I would be powered by the Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-229 or the
General Electric F110-GE-129 engines. In mid 1999, Israel announced that it had selected
the Pratt and Whitney F100-PW-229 turbofan as the engine for its 50 F-16Is. The F-15I
contract was officially signed on January 14, 2000, and included an option to buy an
additional 60 aircraft. Initial deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2003 and should take
about three years to complete.
Sources:
- Combat Aircraft F-16, Doug Richardson,
Crescent, 1992.
- General Dynamics Aircraft and their
Predecessors, John Wegg, Naval Institute Press, 1990.
- The American Fighter, Enzo Angelucci and
Peter Bowers, Orion, 1987.
- United States Military Aircraft Since
1909, Gordon Swanborough and Peter M. Bowers, Smithsonian, 1989.
- F-16 Fighting Falcon--A Major Review of
the West's Universal Warplane, Robert F. Dorr, World Airpower Journal, Spring 1991.
- The World's Great Interceptor Aircraft,
Gallery, 1989.
- Modern Military Aircraft--F-16 Viper, Lou
Drendel, Squadron/Signal Publications, 1992.
- Lockheed F-16 Variants, Part 1, World
Airpower Journal, Volume 21, Summer 1995.
- Military Aviation Review, World Airpower
Journal, Vol 39, Winter 1999.
- Military Aviation Review, World Airpower
Journal, Vol 40, Spring 2000.
- Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 40 and Beyond,
Bill Sweetman, World AirPower Journal, Vol 36, Spring 1999
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