IAI Nesher, Dagger and Kfir

After France refused to deliver Israels Mirage VJ aircraft in 1967, it was decided to develop a version locally. Known as the Nesher the aircraft was roughly equivalent to the Mirage 5. About 100 Neshers were built before production switched to the more advanced Kfir. Some Neshers were later sold to Argentina and participated in the 1982 Falklands War. The Kfir replaced the Mirage Atar turbojet with the significantly more powerful General Electric J79. This necessitated larger air intakes and a dorsal air scoop to cool the afterburner. Israeli avionics were fitted in an extended nose. Early aircraft lacked the canard foreplanes introduced on the C2 model. Some of these early aircraft were later retro fitted to become C1. Other improvements included in the C2 were nose strakes, dog tooth wing leading edges and improved avionics and a HUD. Some C2 aircaft were sold to Ecuador and Colombia while most Israeli aircraft were upgraded to C7 standard during the 1980s. This model introduced a modern cockpit with HOTAS controls. The type has now been largely replaced in Israeli service and surplus aircraft are offered for export. IAI is also offering the Kfir 2000 or C10 standard upgrade which would see new avionics and the fitting of a multimode Elta EL/M-2032 radar. Brazil announced in September 2002 that it was negotiating to lease 12 C10s as an interim measure pending the arrival of its replacement fighter