| Nesher | |
|---|---|
 IAI Finger of theArgentine Air Force at Air Fest 2010 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Multirole fighter |
| National origin | France /Israel |
| Manufacturer | Israel Aircraft Industries |
| Designer | Dassault |
| Status | Retired from military service |
| Primary users | Israeli Air Force |
| Number built | 61 (51+10) |
| History | |
| Introduction date | 1972 |
| First flight | September 1971 |
| Retired | 1977 (Israel) 2015 (Argentina) |
| Developed from | Dassault Mirage 5 |
| Developed into | IAI Kfir |
TheIsrael Aircraft Industries Nesher (Hebrew:נשר, 'griffon vulture', also translated to 'eagle') was theIsraeli version of the FrenchDassault Mirage 5multirole fighter.[1]
Having sustained aircraft losses during theSix-Day War of 1967 and theWar of Attrition fought during the late 1960s, theIsraeli Air Force (IAF) sought to procure an improved variant of the highly successfulDassault Mirage III fighter aircraft. While a partnership to produce such an aircraft, theMirage 5, was formed between French manufacturerDassault Aviation and Israeliaerospace companyIsrael Aircraft Industries (IAI), during January 1969, in response to the1968 Israeli raid on Lebanon, the French government announced that it would be imposing an armsembargo on Israel. In response to the embargo, Israel decided to proceed with the venture, but to domestically manufacture the airframes instead.
During 1969, IAI commenced manufacturing work on the type. According to official accounts, Israel had already obtained a complete set of drawings and detailed information prior to the embargoes enactment. The Neshers' airframe was identical to theMirage 5, but was refitted with Israeli-builtavionics, aMartin-Bakerzero-zero ejection seat, and provisions for a wider range ofair-to-air missiles (AAMs), including the IsraeliShafrirheat-seeking missile. During September 1969, the first Nesher prototype performed itsmaiden flight. During May 1971, the first Raam A was delivered to the IAF. During November 1971, the aircraft was officially renamed as theNesher. The high point of the Nesher's career with the IAF was during the 1973Yom Kippur War. The type reportedly performed well during the conflict, IAF pilots flying the type cumulatively claimed over a hundred kills.
During 1974, production of the Nesher was phased out in favour of a more advanced Mirage derivative which had been planned in parallel to the Nesher, known as theIAI Kfir. The IAF retired the type during the 1970s. The aircraft were later sold to theArgentine Air Force, where they were operated under the nameDagger. During 1978, Argentina urgently deployed their first Daggers due to theBeagle conflict, a territorial dispute and war scare between Argentina and neighbouringChile. Daggers were also used during the 1982Falklands War between Argentina and theUnited Kingdom, conducting a total of 153 sorties against both ground and naval targets across the 45 days of combat operations. During their anti-ship attacks, they were reportedly responsible for damaging several vessels, includingHMS Antrim,Brilliant,Broadsword,Ardent,Arrow andPlymouth. In total, 11 Daggers were lost in combat with the British, including 9 to Royal NavySea Harriers. The remaining aircraft were later upgraded into theFinger standard.
During the early 1962, theIsraeli Air Force (IAF) introduced the first of itsDassault Mirage IIICJ fighter aircraft.[2] For the next two decades, it would be used as anair supremacy platform, securing the skies from hostile aircraft and achieving an impressive kill record during its service life. The performance of the Mirage IIICJ was soon regarded as being highly positive, leading to the type being considered as a strong contender for further development.[2] During the late 1960s, the IAF came under pressure to acquire additional aircraft for the purpose of replacing in excess of 60 combat aircraft that had been lost during several conflicts betweenIsrael and its neighbours, including theSix-Day War of 1967 and theWar of Attrition which followed immediately and continued up to 1970. In addition, anarms race was emerging between Israel and several of its neighbours, such asSyria andEgypt, which were receiving increasingly advanced armaments from theSoviet Union during this time.[3]
Accordingly, during July 1960, Israel had commenced work on a co-development effort withFrench aircraft manufacturerDassault Aviation to develop and produce a variant of their highly successful Mirage III fighter aircraft.[4] This product of this programme became known as theMirage 5 and it was eventually built by Israel and namedRaam in Hebrew (thunder). Dassault had pursued the development of the Mirage 5 at the request of the Israelis, who were the main foreign customers of the Mirage III and generally favoured France as a military supplier during this era.[5] Specific requirements established by the IAF for the next version of the type was to de-emphasis the aircraft's all-weather capability and deleting its mainradar system in exchange for improved ordnance-carrying capacity and range; this was made possible by the mostly-clear climate and typical weather conditions present in theMiddle East.[4]
Even prior to the prototype'smaiden flight, Israel placed an order for a batch of 50 aircraft, as well as a pair of trainer aircraft of the type, which were intended for the IAF. However, the programme was effectively derailed during January 1969 when, in response to the1968 Israeli raid on Lebanon, the French government announced that it would be imposing an armsembargo on Israel and the "warring nations of the Middle East".[4][6][7] The enactment of the embargo prevented the delivery of the first 30 Mirage 5 aircraft, which were already paid for by Israel, in addition to options for 20 more of the type. In addition to preventing further deliveries, it also cut off all French support for operating the IAF's existing Mirage IIICJ fleet.[6] Strategically, the embargo gave a major impetus for Israel to develop the capabilities of its own domestic arms industry in order to meet its demands.[8]
The embargo has been viewed as having been a considerable setback for the IAF, who had been keen to induct the new Mirage 5 variant to compensate for the losses incurred during the Six-Day War, the service was also continuing to use the Mirage IIIC, but found itself unable to access official support. In response to the French decision, Israel decided to domestically manufacture the airframes (known asRaam A and B project);[9] reportedly, Israel already possessed the necessary schematics and documentation on the aircraft, although Israel did not officially obtain amanufacturing license from Dassault. According to aviation author Don McCarthy, it has been speculated that Israeli intelligence agencyMossad had played a role in obtaining some of the manufacturing information, while others allege that Dassault's founder,Marcel Dassault, may have freely provided design information.[6][10]
According to aviation authors Doug Dildy and Pablo Calcaterra, Dassault discreetly provided thejigs, fixtures, and a large quantity of airframe components to Israel via an industrialconsortium of Israeliaerospace companyIsrael Aircraft Industries andAmerican aviation firmNorth American Rockwell, who were claimed to have been sold a manufacturing licence in January 1968.[10] Reportedly, the first bare airframes, featuring no weapons,electronics,ejection seat, or engine included, had been delivered directly from Dassault in France.[9] Dildy and Calcaterra claimed that detailed information on the aircraft's Atar engine was obtained viaSwiss industrial manufacturerSulzer, who had produced the engine for Switzerland's own Mirages; between these blueprints and possessing several Atar engines of the IAF's existing Mirages toreverse engineer, Israel was able to independently manufacture its own engines.[10]
During 1969, IAI commenced manufacturing activity on the project.[11] Officially, Israel manufactured the aircraft after having obtained a complete set of drawings. However, some sources have alternatively claimed that Israel had received 50 Mirage 5s in a disassembled state and shipped in crates directly from theFrench Air Force (AdA), while the AdA proceeded to take on the 50 aircraft which had originally been intended for Israeli service.[6][4][12][13] During September 1969, the first Nesher prototype performed itsmaiden flight. During May 1971, the first Raam A was delivered to the IAF. During November 1971, the aircraft received its official name ofNesher.[9]
The Neshers' airframe was identical to the Mirage 5, but there was an extensive refitting of Israeli-builtavionics systems, along with the adoption of aMartin-Bakerzero-zero ejection seat,[10] and improved provisions for a wider range ofAAMs, including the IsraeliShafrirheat-seeking missile. In total, 51 Nesher fighters (Nesher S) and ten Nesher two-seat trainers (Nesher T) were constructed by IAI. The Nesher featured more simplistic avionics than the IAF's Mirage IIIC, reportedly, it was also slightly less maneuverable. However, it possessed a longer combat range and a larger payload. The reduced maneuverability of the type did not prevent the Nesher from performing well in air combat during theYom Kippur War of 1973.[14]
During 1974, production of the Nesher was phased out in favour of a more advanced Mirage derivative which had been planned in parallel to the Nesher. The principal difference of this derivative was the replacement of the Atar engine by an Israeli-builtGeneral Electric J79 engine. The J79 was a popularAmerican engine for combat aircraft, having already been used on fighters such as theLockheed F-104 Starfighter and theMcDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II. The resulting aircraft was given the nameIAI Kfir.[15]
During May 1971, the first Raam A was delivered to the IAF. Production deliveries continued until February 1974, by which point a total of 51 Nesher fighters and 10 Nesher two-seat trainers has been delivered to the IAF.
The high point of the Nesher's career with the IAF occurred during theYom Kippur War of 1973.[16] The type reportedly performed well during the conflict, IAF pilots flying the type cumulatively claimed over a hundred kills.[16] Shortly following the conflict, the decision was made to retire the Nesher. The introduction of the more capable Kfir derivative had diminished the importance of the Nesher, and their involvement in offensive operations had resulted in the airframes having rapidly aged as well.[17][14] Following their withdrawal from service with the IAF, the majority of the remaining Neshers were refurbished and sold to Argentina, where the type was known as theDagger.[16]
Following their retirement from IAF service, the remaining Israeli aircraft were refurbished and exported to theArgentine Air Force in two batches, 26 fighters were delivered in 1978 and 13 more in 1980, with fiftyRafael Shafrir IVair-to-air missiles.[18] In Argentine service, the type was operated under the nameDagger (the English word); at its height, Argentina operated a total of 35Dagger A single-seat fighters and fourDagger B two-seat trainers.[19][18] During 1978, the Dagger was used to form a new unit, 6th Air Group; this unit was immediately enlisted with the support of the 8th Air Group (which operated the Mirage IIIEA) and thePeruvian Air Force, who was already an established user of the Mirage 5. The urgency of their initial deployment was a product of theBeagle conflict, a territorial dispute and diplomatic crisis between Argentina and neighbouringChile during that year.
During the 1982Falklands War between Argentina and theUnited Kingdom, Daggers were deployed to the southern naval airbase ofRío Grande, Tierra del Fuego, and an airfield inPuerto San Julián. Despite the lack of anaerial refuelling capability and the considerable distance to their targets the type conducted 153 sorties against both ground and naval targets over the 45 days of combat operations.
They damaged several vessels in anti-ship attacks, includingHMS Antrim,Brilliant,Broadsword, andArrow withcannon fire andPlymouth andArdent withbombs.[20][21] Eleven Daggers were lost in combat, nine toAIM-9L Sidewinders fired fromSea Harriers, one by aSea Wolf from HMSBroadsword, and another to a land-basedRapier.[22]
As part of the 1979 contract with IAI, the Argentine Air Force had stipulated that the Daggers would be equipped with new avionics and HUD systems, enabling them to conform to theKfir C.2 standard (and beyond in some subsystems).[23] The program, which was namedFinger, was already underway in 1982 when the Falklands War broke out. Although the conflict was relatively brief, one consequence of the war was, as some of these systems were made by the BritishMarconi Electronic Systems, it became necessary to replace British-built systems after an arms embargo was imposed by the United Kingdom government. The work to replace such systems led to the aircraft being modified to the finalFinger IIIB standard; this model primarily differed from the originalFinger standard in the replacement of British-sourced equipment, often using French-made counterparts fromThomson-CSF.[24][25]
Data from[citation needed]
General characteristics
Performanceat 12,000 m (39,370 ft)
Armament
Related development
