IAI Kfir

The IAI Kfir, whose name is Hebrew for lion cub, is an Israeli combat aircraft built by Israel Aircraft Industries. It is basically a redesigned Dassault Mirage 5 with a canard mounted on each air intake, low-mounted delta wings with a sawtooth leading edge and a single General Electric J79 afterburning turbojet, fitted with a suite of Israeli electronics. The design drew on the company's earlier experience with the Nesher, an unlicensed copy of the Mirage IIICJ. The Kfir-C1 first flew in June 1973 and entered limited production of 27 aircraft, and the first was handed over to the Israeli Air Force in 1975 for the First Fighter Squadron. The Kfir-C2, introduced in 1976, added dogtoothed outer wing panels, small undernose strakes and swept delta canards. The type was sold abroad, and Kfir-C1 airframes served the US Navy and Marine Corps as F-21A adversary aircraft.