Israel plans to upgrade its aging F-16 fleet after excellent performance in Iran war

The Israel Air Force is considering implementing an upgrade and refurbishment program for its fleet of F-16 “Barak” fighter jets, following the stellar performance by the aging fleet during the Operation Rising Lion campaign against Iran. 

Israel received the General Dynamics F-16C/D model in the 1990s, after it had already been in service for the U.S. Air Force for over a decade. The Israeli Air Force (IAF) also received 50 F-16A/B models as a reward for refraining from retaliation after being targeted by Saddam Hussein during the Persian Gulf War.

Although the older F-16C/D models, known as ‘Barak,’ lack some of the advanced capabilities of the later F-16I ‘Sufa,’ they were upgraded by the IAF to meet Israeli standards.

One crucial feature the F-16C/D variants initially lacked was support for conformal fuel tanks (CFTs) – absent from U.S. models but incorporated into later versions produced for Israel.

The older F-16 variants had to rely on large, under-wing fuel tanks, similar to what was used in Operation Opera, the secret Israeli strike on the Iraqi nuclear reactor at Osirak. 

However, it was recently reported that the IAF chose to use the older F-16 variants during the war against Iran in June, and was surprised to discover that the fighter jets were able to make the trip without refueling on the way to Iranian airspace. This was considered an extraordinary feat for the 30-40-year-old aircraft – originally designed for close-range operations, such as within Gaza, Lebanon, or Syria. 

Last week, IAF Commander Maj.-Gen. Tomer Bar revealed that it was the pilots themselves who convinced him the veteran aircraft could reach Iran without aerial refueling, overturning previous assumptions about the planes’ capabilities.

"You sat, you thought, you calculated, and you called me for a visit, which proved the opposite: 'We can get to Iran without refueling, we can do it at a high rate, non-stop,' that's what you told me,” Bar said in a ceremony celebrating the installment of a new commander for the Ramat David Airbase. “It was possible with the maturity, professionalism, and experience of the airmen here.” 

By reaching Iran without refueling, the aircraft freed up the IAF’s limited tanker fleet to support other combat planes during the complex operations over Iran.

While the aircraft has been upgraded over the years – most recently in the Barak 2020 project – the planes are nearing the end of their operational life. The upgrade and refurbishment process is allegedly designed to extend the aircraft’s service life by several years at a fraction of the cost of purchasing new F-35s.

Poland recently signed a deal to upgrade 48 of its F-16 aircraft to a newer F-16V “Viper” standard. The program includes advanced radar systems, new electronic warfare and communication tools, and replacement of worn-out parts, and should add about 3,000 flight hours to the vehicles’ operational life.

The upgrade will also enable support for conformal fuel tanks (CFTs), a capability the earlier models initially lacked. The work will be performed in Israel by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), using parts supplied from the United States.