On July 16, the Israel Air Force officially retired its last F-16C Fighting Falcon, marking the end of an era.
As he writes Bulgarian Military, the 115th Squadron at Ovda Air Base bid farewell to the last Barak-1 fighter jet acquired in the 1980s, ending this chapter in Israeli aviation history.
The service noted that "the decommissioning of the last Barak-1 single-seat aircraft marks the end of more than three and a half decades of faithful service." The country's Air Force (IAF) fleet consisted of 81 F-16Cs at its peak. This withdrawal follows the phase-out of 90 previous F-16A/B Netz fighters in December 2016.
The F-16C phase-out coincided with the IAF's expansion of its Lockheed Martin F-35A Adir force. Although the F-16A/B/C models are now retired, the Israel Air Force still operates 47 F-16D Brakeet combat aircraft and 97 F-16I Sufa combat variants.
The Israeli Barak-1 fighter is a variant of the F-16 Fighting Falcon specially modified to meet the requirements of the Israeli Air Force. The name "Barak" is translated from Hebrew as "lightning", which reflects his agility and speed. The Barak-1 is part of a series of F-16 variants that have been adapted with improved avionics, weapons and systems to enhance its combat capabilities.
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