Here Are The Entire Inventories Of The Israeli And Canadian Air Forces

The Warzone/The Drive: These Handy Graphics Show The Entire Inventories Of The Israeli And Canadian Air Forces

Being able to visualize an air force's aircraft fleet and how it is organized helps bring perspective as to its strengths and weaknesses.

Aircraft inventories, squadron organization, and basing locations of various air arms around the globe are always of great interest to anyone who keeps an eye on military aviation, and nobody conveys that information better than our good friends at Contemporary Issues Geography. They have mastered the art form of showcasing an air force's order of battle in a single attractive graphic (like here, here, here, here and here). With this in mind, we always like so show off their newest works, and this time around they have come through with new panels depicting the Israeli and Canadian Air Forces.

Read more ....

Israel's Old Fighter Jets Are Being Used By The U.S. Marines In Their Training

An air-to-air right side view of a F-21A Kfir aircraft, November 1, 1985. Wikimedia commons

Business Insider/We Are The Mighty: This Israeli fighter jet was so good the US Marines used it as an aggressor in training

* The IAI Kfir was built by the Israelis out of necessity to combat Russian-made MiG-23s.
* The Kfir performed so well that the USMC adopted it for use as an aggressor to train its pilots what to do in a dogfight.
* The Kfir has also been adopted by Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia.

Israel faced a problem in the 1970s. The Yom Kippur War had seen them take heavy aircraft losses. They needed more planes – and they wanted to get some better performance as well. After all, Syria was acquiring advanced MiG-23s (the Flogger was advanced at the time).

The Israelis had been forced to steal the plans for the Mirage 5 from France after an arms embargo. Mossad had managed to get the Mirage 5 plans in a very brilliant operation, but it was just an interim solution.

Israel built 50 Neshers, which correlated to the number of aircraft it had ordered from France. The Nesher was flown by Giora Epstein when he took on 11 MiGs by himself.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: Israel's military capabilities is always surprising me.

Hat tip to Fred for this link.

Israel Grounds All F-16 Fighter Jets After One Crashed In The Mediterranean Sea

An Israeli Air Force F-16I Fighting Falcon, September 20, 2006 (photo credit: Ofer Zidon/Flash90)

Israel Grounds Warplanes After F16 Crashes At Sea -- Reuters

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - An Israeli F16 warplane crashed at sea on Sunday due to an engine malfunction and Israel subsequently grounded all its F15 and F16 combat aircraft pending a review of the incident, a military spokesman said.

The pilot and navigator on board managed to safely bail out of the U.S.-made plane and a military rescue unit came to evacuate them by helicopter, the spokesman and Israeli media reports said.

Read more ....

More News On Israel Grounding All F-16 Fighter Jets After One Crashed In The Mediterranean Sea

Israeli Air Force F-16 Crashes -- Israel Defense
Air force jet crashes off Gaza coast -- Times of Israel
Israeli F-16 Crashes Into Sea, Crew Unharmed -- Defense News/AFP
Israeli F-16 fighter jet crashes into Mediterranean Sea; pilots ejected and unharmed -- FOX News/AP
Israeli F16 crashes into sea -- The Telegraph
IAF F-16 jet crashes into sea; airmen eject safely -- Jerusalem Post

The Growing Role Of The Air Force In Israel's Security

A fully armed F-16 during take off (Photo credit: Ofer Zidon/ Flash 90)

Syria Strike Shows Israel’s Security Burden Increasingly Borne By Air Force -- Times of Israel

Forget standing armies and reserve troops. Intelligence and long-range air attacks now hold the key to national defense, and they require split-second decisions with drastic potential repercussions

The Israel Air Force, after what may have been several warning flights, struck targets in Syria in the early hours of Friday, according to a bevy of international reports. Pentagon officials speaking to CNN, in a brief but prompt leak, asserted that the US does not believe Israeli warplanes entered Syrian skies and that there “is no reason to believe” that Israel struck at a chemical weapons storage facility.

The latest incident, together with what are believed to be other covert actions by Israeli forces in recent months, shines a stark light on the Israel Defense Forces’ current predicament. Israel faces no threat from a standing army on its borders – perhaps for the first time in its existence – but the multiplicity of other threats are such that the chance of triggering a small war, in Syria, Lebanon, Gaza or Sinai, is now a near-daily concern.

Read more ....

My Comment: I would also add the intelligence services into this mix .... after-all .... someone has to pinpoint the targets.

Is Israel's Aerial Superiority In Danger?

IAF Commander: Israel's Aerial Superiority Is In Danger -- Haaretz

Maj. Gen. Ido Nehushtan says that amid regional instability, the advanced weaponry acquired by Middle Eastern countries could fall into the hands of terrorists.

Israel Air Force chief Ido Nehushtan said Sunday that Israel's aerial superiority in the Middle East is in danger, since neighboring countries are being equipped with increasingly advanced weaponry which could end up in the hands of terrorists.

Speaking at the Annual International Space Conference in Herzliya, Maj. Gen. Ido Nehushtan said the IAF is facing growing challenges.

Read more ....

My Comment: I do not see how this is possible. All of Israel's neighbors are being swept away by revolution .... hence maintaining their air forces are no longer a priority.

A Video On The History Of The Israeli Air Force

Hat Tip: Theo Spark

A Glimpse At How The Israeli Air Force Trains Its PilotsTo Confront Its Enemies

Virtual Reality, Psych Prep Help IAF -- The Jerusalem Post

In the face of a growing anti-aircraft and ballistic missile threat against Israel, the IAF plans to conduct special seminars to prepare pilots and ground crews for future conflicts, The Jerusalem Post has learned.

The seminar will first be held for pilots who, in a future conflict with Hamas, Hizbullah, Syria or Iran, are expected to have to deal with an unprecedented number of surface-to-air missiles, most of them Russian-made.

Read more ....

My Comment: The part of the article that I found interesting was the following ....

The Heron TP is the largest Israeli UAV, with a 26-meter long wingspan, the same length as a Boeing 737. It weighs 4,650 kilograms and can fly at an altitude of up to 45,000 feet.

The Heron TP is capable of reaching Iran and, according to Defense News, is capable of carrying more than a ton of weapons as well as specialized sensors, electronic warfare and targeting gear in its forward section, its principal payload bay and on each tail of its twin boom.

For a suicide mission, this would be the perfect UAV. I knew that the Israelis were advanced in UAV technology, but it is only now that I understand why many countries are interested in purchasing this tech .... on paper it is impressive.