IAI Nescher

IAI Nescher
IAI Finger at Air Fest 2010
Type:	Single seat fighter
Design country:	Israel
Manufacturer:	Israel Aircraft Industries
First flight:	September 1969
Production time:	1971 to 1974
Number of pieces:	61

The military aircraft IAI Nescher ( griffon vulture , popularly also eagle in Hebrew: נשר) or Dagger was built in Israel according to the plans of the French Dassault Mirage 5 .

description

After the Six Day War , France imposed an arms embargo on Israel and Mirage 5 aircraft that had already been ordered could no longer be delivered. Since the Israeli Air Force (IAF) urgently needed new aircraft, the newly founded Israel Aircraft Industries developed the "Nescher" from existing components and partly from construction plans for the Mirage 5 and its Atar 9C engine obtained through spying in Switzerland . It was, apart from some Israeli avionics parts and the Martin-Baker - ejection seat , a copy of the Mirage, which in Israel as Ra'am A was called.

The first aircraft took off on its maiden flight in September 1969. From May 1971, 51 single-seat fighters and 10 two-seat training aircraft were delivered to the IAF , which successfully asserted themselves against the attackers' MiG and Sukhoi aircraft in the 1973 Yom Kippur War , with around 15 aircraft being lost. Later, the further development Kfir with the American GE J79 (Starfighter) engine and revised avionics was created.

1978-1980 the remaining Nescher machines were for a modernization of Argentina sold 39 single-seat fighter as Dagger A and four two-seat training aircraft as Dagger B . The fleet was - partly rebuilt again to the model Finger (similar to Kfir) - used in the Falklands War and caused considerable damage to the British Navy. The destroyer Antrim and the frigates Ardent (later sunk) and Plymouth were badly affected ; other ships suffered minor damage. Eleven daggers / fingers were shot down, nine of them by Sea-Harrier .

variants

Ra'am-A

Basic variant of the Nesher as a direct replica of the Mirage 5 with J79 engine

Nesher S.

single-seat fighter-bomber for the IAF

Nesher T

two-seat trainer for the IAF

Dagger A

modernized single-seat fighter-bomber for the Argentine Air Force

Dagger B.

modernized two-seat trainer for the Argentine Air Force

Finger i

modernized variant for the Argentine Air Force

Finger II

modernized variant for the Argentine Air Force

Finger III

modernized variant for the Argentine Air Force

Military users

 Argentina - Argentine Air Force ( Fuerza Aérea Argentina )

35 × "Dagger A"

4 × "Dagger B"

 Israel - Israeli Air Force (IAF)

51 × "Nesher S"

10 × "Nesher T"

Technical specifications

Parameter	Data
length	14.75 m
span	8.22 m
height	4.25 m
Wing area	34.8 m²
Empty mass	6,600 kg
Max. Takeoff mass	13,700 kg
drive	1 SNECMA Atar 9c jet engine with 6,000 kp static thrust
Top speed	2.2 Mach
Range	2,600 km
Service ceiling	17,680 m

Armament

• 2 × 30 mm automatic revolver cannons Israel Military Industries (IMI), license production of DEFA 553 with 140 rounds each

Armament up to 4,000 kg at seven external suspension stations under the two wings and under the fuselage

Air-to-air guided missiles

• 2 × launch rails for 1 × infrared-controlled short-range air-to-air guided missile Matra R.550 "Magic I" each
• 2 × launch rails for 1 × infrared-controlled short-range air-to-air guided missile Ford AIM-9P "Sidewinder" each
• 2 × launch rails for 1 × infrared-controlled short-range air-to-air guided missile Rafael "Shafir I" each

Unguided air-to-surface missiles

• 2 × Matra 155 rocket launchers for 18 × unguided air-to-surface missiles SNEB ; Caliber 68 mm
• 2 × Matra JL-100 rocket launchers, each with 19 × unguided SNEB air-to-surface missiles, caliber 68 mm; combined with a disposable additional tank for 250 liters (66 US gallons) of kerosene

Unguided bombs

• 2 × Mk.83 (454 kg free-fall bombs )
• 6 × Mk.82 (227 kg free-fall bombs)
• 10 × Mk.81 (113 kg free-fall bombs)

Additional container

• 2 × subsonic underwing drop tanks for 1300/1100 liters of kerosene
• 2 × supersonic under wing additional tanks for 500 liters of kerosene
• 1 × drop-off lower hull additional tank for 600 liters of kerosene

See also

• List of aircraft types

Web links

Commons : IAI Nesher  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• IAI - NESCHER (1971–1981)
• GlobalSecurity: Nescher

Individual evidence

1. ↑ FliegerRevue March 2009, pp. 30–34, IAI Kfir - The lion still roars