IAI Lavi

The IAI Lavi, Hebrew for lion, was an Israeli fighter that Israel Aircraft Industries developed in the 1980s to be the mainstay of the Israeli Air Force. Building on its experience with the Nesher and the Kfir, the Israeli government and IAI set out to design and build a modern fighter that would be a superior attack aircraft with advanced weapons systems. Israel planned to build up to 300 dual-role aircraft to replace its A-4 and Kfir fleets between 1993 and 2003, using mature American subsystems and a Pratt and Whitney PW1120 engine that Israel could not develop on its own. The Lavi was rolled out in July 1986 and made a successful maiden flight in December 1986. It was cancelled in 1987 after a wide public debate about the cost and American concerns about competition with the F-16 and F-18, which forced a major reorganization of IAI.