F-16I Sufa is equipped with 50% of Israeli-made avionics, capable of deploying Python 5 air-to-air missiles. Isarael’s fighter jets use AN / APG-68 (V) 9 radar, adding two more CFT aerodynamic fuel tanks to increase range. This is considered a worthy opponent of Russia’s MiG-29SMT over Syria.

Israel is one of the countries with a small area in the Middle East, but its military, especially the air force, has the leading fighting power in the region. This makes it a crucial partner in the fight against terrorism. Israel is also an important security partner for the United States and is a partner in the US-led effort to create a more stable Middle East.

Maintained in the Israeli Defense Force are the world’s leading aircraft such as the F-16I Soufa, F-15I Ra’am and F-35. F-16I Sufa is the most modern F-16 fighter version of the Israeli Air Force, this is a two-seat variant of the Block 52 developed for the Israeli Defense Force, a total of 102 aircraft were ordered by Israel. The F-16I, which is called Soufa or “Storm” in Hebrew by the israel air force, made its maiden flight in December 2003. The first two aircraft were delivered to the Israeli Air Force at the Ramon Air Base, in February 2004. Deliveries were completed at a rate of about two a month over four years, with final delivery in 2009. The 102nd aircraft was delivered in 2009. The F-16I has an estimated unit cost of approximately $70 million in 2006.

The F-16I is specially designed for Israel, has a 23,600-kilogram take-off weight, considerably more than the earlier F-16s in Israeli Air Force service. The new aircraft is equipped with a pair of removable conformal fuel tanks provided by Israel Aerospace Industries. The conformal fuel tanks, holding 450gal of extra fuel, are mounted on both sides of the upper fuselage.

The very low drag configuration conformal fuel tanks have a very small effect on the aircraft’s agility, handling quality and flight limits. The use of the conformal tanks increases the aircraft’s mission range and combat endurance. The fitting of conformal tanks makes the two wing inner store stations normally used for external tanks available for weapon carriage, doubling the aircraft’s air-to-ground weapons capacity.

With the new upgrades of the F-16I, this fighter became a potential threat to help Israel implement its deterrent strategy with retaliatory strikes throughout the Middle East. The extended flight range reportedly allows Israeli forces to attack targets well within Iran without having to refuel.

The cockpit of the F-16I has been expanded to provide for the addition of an onboard weapons officer situated behind the pilot, the front cockpit is for the pilot and the rear cockpit is configured for the weapons systems operator.

F-16I Sufa is the main type of fighter used by Israel in “anti-terrorist” air strikes on Syrian territory.

The Soufa has been customized with new avionic technologies, internally mounted FLIR, forward looking infrared, viewers, and cutting edge weapon system hardware provided by the Israeli defense company Lahav – a division of Israel Aircraft Industries. The Lahav technology will allow for simultaneous, multi-target air-to-air engagement and increased standoff and survivability capabilities.

F-16I is a modified version of Israel.

An APG-68 synthetic aperture radar which enables tracking ground targets at any weather, day or night, and avionic systems which were developed according to specific demands made by the Israeli Air Force and the Israeli Defense Industries. The radar improves target-tracking performance and allows for automatic targeting instead of manual, thus saving valuable time. These systems increases the distance of air𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧e engagement by 30 percent over the older APG-69 system and affords the Soufa with a high-resolution synthetic-aperture ground mapping capability.

The F-16 is the largest number of fighter aircraft in the Israeli Air Force, with a total of up to 224 aircraft including 78 F-16C, 49 F-16D and the most 97 units of F-16I.

The electronic warfare suite, being supplied by Elisra, includes radar warning receivers, missile approach warners and jamming systems, including the Elisra SPS 3000 self-protection jammer which is installed in the large spine. The chaff and flare dispenser is supplied by Rokar.