The company future fleet of F-16 aggressors will challenge the highly-advanced capabilities of 5th generation aircraft as highly-representative threats.
According to the Globes, Israel’s Ministry of Defense is conducting negotiations with Canadian company Top Aces for the sale of 29 surplus F-16 fighter jets belonging to the Israeli Air Force (IAF) – with each aircraft selling for between $3 million and $4 million.
The Ministry of Defense’s International Defense Cooperation Directorate (SIBAT) is responsible for the talks with Montreal-based defense contractor Top Aces, that provides air combat training in support of its customers worldwide.
Top Aces is a privately owned company and the exclusive adversary air provider to the Canadian and German armed forces. It employs a growing team of 270+ highly skilled personnel based in the geographies where the company serves its clients. Top Aces’ more than 40 fighter pilots hail from the Canadian, German and American armed forces and 80% of them are Top Gun Fighter Weapons School graduates. Many of the pilots who flew for Top Aces are veterans who, along with the entire Top Aces team, contribute to delivering air combat training every day under the highest possible technical and operational airworthiness standards.
As part of its future fleet, Top Aces intends to introduce the F-16 which is considered by many to be the most agile fighter aircraft of its generation. Its superior speed, acceleration, maneuverability, small visual and radar signature, and ability to integrate advanced sensors and threat systems have made it the aircraft of choice for the USAF and USN Aggressor fleets since 1988.
The company future fleet of F-16 aggressors will be equipped with advanced radar, Helmet Mounted Cueing System, and modern Electronic Attack capabilities to challenge the highly-advanced capabilities of 5th generation aircraft as highly-representative threats.
The first F-16s entered service with the IAF in 1980, and advanced variants of the aircraft still form the service’s backbone. The F-16’s carry out a wide range of complex missions, from attacking deep in enemy territory to air superiority, and have built up an extraordinary record of achievement in Heyl Ha’avir. A year after their arrival the aircraft already attacked the Iraqi nuclear reactor, destroying it completely. In Operation Peace for the Galilee the F-16s achieved air dominance by shooting down about 40 Syrian planes, in the course of the operation against the SAM’s in the Beka’a valley.
The F-16s participate in numerous operations, on a variety of missions, to this day.
Photo credit: Israel Defense Forces
