IAI Lavi - History

History

The Lavi project began in February 1980, when the Israeli government authorized the IAF to present it with a list of technical specifications for the development of the IAF's future fighter. The development stage began in October 1982, with the choice of a Pratt & Whitney engine already having been made.

Some of the Lavi's most distinct advantages were in its functional features, especially its cockpit, custom-built entirely using input from active IAF fighter pilots. Drawing on their operational experience, the design was geared to let the pilot handle the tactical aspects of the battle, without having to worry about monitoring and controlling the various subsystems. The avionics of the Lavi were considered to be innovative and groundbreaking, and included equipment with built-in self-diagnosis to make maintenance easier.

The aircraft featured a delta wing with large, steerable canards situated in the front of the aircraft. While this configuration afforded excellent maneuverability it also exhibited natural instability in flight. To compensate, the Lavi was fitted with a sophisticated digital fly-by-wire system which allowed the plane to take advantage of this particular wing design while eliminating its shortcoming. The Lavi was one of the first aircraft to feature this type of configuration which has become more common in many other fighter aircraft.

On December 31, 1986, the first prototype of the Lavi took off on its maiden flight. The test pilot, Menachem Shmul, head of IAI's Air Operations section, took off at 13:21 and stayed in the air for 26 minutes, during which he checked the engine and controls. The handling was described as "excellent", with a high degree of stability in crosswind landings. Both B-01 and B-02 were tandem two-seaters, with the rear cockpit occupied by test equipment.

About three months later, a second Lavi prototype took to the air. It was made as primarily an attack aircraft with more powerful radar and a higher payload. In its maiden flight, the engine systems, flight control, electrical system, hydraulics and air conditioning were evaluated. The second prototype had some improvements over the first, with a belly-mounted fuel tank, a special midair refuelling probe and several avionic systems that were not employed in the first prototype.

The IAI had produced three prototypes out of the originally planned five when the Israeli government decided to cancel the project because of budget problems and bickering among various economic and political pressure groups. The total cost for the development and production of the Lavi was US$6.4 billion in 1983 ($14.9 billion in present-day terms), of which around 40% was funded by the United States and 60% by the Israeli government. The project was canceled in part because the U.S. was not prepared to finance an aircraft that would compete in the export market with the F-16C/D and the F/A-18C/D, and also because a dispute arose as to the final cost. The Israeli government was unable to finance the project alone and canceled it on August 30, 1987. The decision to cancel was approved with a majority of only one vote. Two years after the project's cancellation, the IAI completed the building of the third Lavi prototype, which served as a Technology Demonstrator (TD) and a flying testbed to some of the IAI's projects. The TD flew until the mid nineties, and was later used as a ground testbed.

Throughout the project's lifetime, Likud minister Moshe Arens, himself an IAF veteran, was the Lavi's main advocate. However, the military was not of one mind on the issue. A counter-argument was that the Lavi did not represent enough of an advance over the F-16 to justify its higher cost, and Israel was better off buying larger numbers of the American plane. Some Israeli community welfare organizations also criticized the spending on Lavi, describing it as a bottomless pit, in contrast to dwindling expenditure on health and education.

However, while the Lavi project was canceled, its development represented an important opportunity to demonstrate and advance the capabilities of Israel's aerospace industry; moreover, many of the aircraft's sub-systems and components continued to be developed by the Israeli aerospace industry and are nowadays available in the defense marketplace as separate systems, contributing to Israeli exports.

According to some sources China was in possession of a Lavi during development of the J-10. In vuew of the high level of American involvement, in terms of technology sharing as well as funding, if these allegations were true, the sale of a Lavi and technical assistance in the production of the J-10 would have represented a direct and illicit transfer of American technology to the Chinese by the Israelis. In sum, to a degree, the most advanced Chinese aircraft in service would contain the most advanced American technology. The designer of the J-10, Song Wencong (宋文骢), however, has denied any connection whatsoever with Lavi program, pointing to similarities with the J-9, which was developed in the 1960s and predates the Lavi.

Armscor of South Africa was reported to have made concerted efforts to recruit technicians that had worked on the Lavi for its Atlas Cheetah upgrade project. China's Chengdu J-10 fighter aircraft benefited from significant, direct input from Lavi programme, including access to the Lavi aircraft itself.

Read more about this topic:  IAI Lavi

Famous quotes containing the word history:

    At present cats have more purchasing power and influence than the poor of this planet. Accidents of geography and colonial history should no longer determine who gets the fish.
    Derek Wall (b. 1965)

    ... all big changes in human history have been arrived at slowly and through many compromises.
    Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962)

    A country grows in history not only because of the heroism of its troops on the field of battle, it grows also when it turns to justice and to right for the conservation of its interests.
    Aristide Briand (1862–1932)