Israel to launch F-16 fighter upgrade

By Arie Egozi

The Israeli air force will soon begin a series upgrade to its Lockheed Martin F-16C/D fighters, with the "Barak 2020" programme aimed at equipping the legacy aircraft with almost the same level of avionics equipment as used by its latest F-16Is. The aim of the project is to enable the F-16C/D fleet to serve until at least 2020.

Israel's modernisation effort comes after a long test period, during which an upgraded avionics suite has been test flown using one F-16D operated to the limit of its flight envelope. The air force says the upgrade will boost interoperability with its fleet of 101 F-16Is, and facilitate the integration of new weapon systems with its operational fleet of approximately 124 C/D-model aircraft.