''Netz 107'' is a General Dynamics F-16A block 10 Fighting Falcon of the

Israeli Air Force The Israeli Air Force (IAF; he, זְרוֹעַ הָאֲוִיר וְהֶחָלָל, Zroa HaAvir VeHahalal, tl, "Air and Space Arm", commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial warfare branch of the Israel Defense ...

, tail number 107. ''Netz 107'' participated in

Operation Opera Operation Opera ( he, מבצע אופרה), also known as Operation Babylon, was a surprise airstrike conducted by the Israeli Air Force on 7 June 1981, which destroyed an unfinished Iraqi nuclear reactor located southeast of Baghdad, Iraq. ...

, bombing the Osiraq nuclear reactor, and was later credited with 6.5 enemy aircraft kills, a world record number of kills for an F-16.Record-breaking F-16 Falcon to be retired from IDF service

ynet Ynet (stylized as ynet) is one of the major Israeli news and general-content websites, and is the online outlet for the '' Yedioth Ahronot'' newspaper. However, most of Ynet's content is original work, published exclusively on the website and wri ...

, 11 February 2015

Operational service

The first F-16A/B ''Netz'' fighters arrived in

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

during 1980 and were issued to

117 Squadron (Israel) The 117 Squadron of the Israeli Air Force, also known as the First Jet Squadron, is a training squadron for F-35I 'Adir' fighter pilots, based at Nevatim Airbase. Before it closed in September 2020 after 67 years of service, the 117th was an F-16C ...

of the

. ''Netz 107'' was the first F-16 to touch Israeli soil when it landed on 2 July 1980 at

Ramat David Airbase Ramat David Israeli Air Force Base (, he, בָּסִיס חֵיל-הַאֲוִיר רָמַת דָּוִד ''Basis Kheil HaAvir Ramat David'') is one of three principal airbases of the Israeli Air Force, located southeast of Haifa, close to kibbu ...

. On 7 June 1981 ''Netz 107'' took part in

, piloted by

Amos Yadlin Aluf (Major General, res.) Amos Yadlin ( he, עמוס ידלין; born 20 November 1951) is a former general in the Israeli Air Force (IAF), Israel Defense Forces military attaché to Washington, D.C. and head of the IDF Military Intelligence Dir ...

, and was the second F-16 to strike the Osiraq nuclear reactor after wing leader Zeev Raz. ''Netz 107'' scored its first aerial kill on 21 April 1982 when pilot Zeev Raz shot down a

Syrian Air Force ) , mascot = , anniversaries = 16 October , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles = * 1948 Arab-Israeli War * Six-Day War * Yom Kippur War ...

MiG-23 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-23; NATO reporting name: Flogger) is a variable-geometry fighter aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau in the Soviet Union. It is a third-generatio ...

. During

Operation Peace for Galilee The 1982 Lebanon War, dubbed Operation Peace for Galilee ( he, מבצע שלום הגליל, or מבצע של"ג ''Mivtsa Shlom HaGalil'' or ''Mivtsa Sheleg'') by the Israeli government, later known in Israel as the Lebanon War or the First L ...

it shot down 6 more Syrian aircraft. On 9 June 1982,

Eliezer Shkedi Aluf Eliezer Shkedy (Hebrew: אליעזר שקדי; born 16 August 1957) is a retired general in the Israel Defense Forces, who served as commander of the Israeli Air Force from 4 April 2004 until 13 May 2008. He is also a former CEO of El Al, th ...

shot down two

s, although one was shared with another pilot. On Friday 11 June 1982 pilot

Eytan Stibbe Eytan Meir Stibbe is an Israeli former fighter pilot, businessman and commercial astronaut. In November 2020 he paid Axiom Space to become a space tourist on a ten day mission to the International Space Station aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon spac ...

shot down four Syrian aircraft. Several years later ''Netz 107'' was re-allocated to

253 Squadron (Israel) 253 Squadron of the Israeli Air Force, also known as the Negev Squadron, is an F-16I fighter squadron based at Ramon Airbase. On 21 March 2018 Israel's government officially confirmed 253 Squadron, along with 69 and 119 Squadrons, took part an ...

along with other F-16A/Bs. In 2015 it was retired from service and put on display at the

Israeli Air Force Museum The Israeli Air Force Museum is located at Hatzerim Airbase in the Negev desert. The museum was established in 1977 and has been open to the public since 1991. The museum displays a variety of Israeli Air Force and foreign aircraft, as well as a ...

Kills

References

External links

אלוף ההפלות: זהו איתן סטיבה – האסטרונאוט הישראלי
October 2020 (Hebrew)
IAF F-16s kill tallies
in F-16.net

, 11 February 2015 * xnir photography
IAF F-16 Netz 107
photo gallery in

Flickr Flickr ( ; ) is an American image hosting and video hosting service, as well as an online community, founded in Canada and headquartered in the United States. It was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and was a popular way for amateur and professional ...

מטוס האף־16 שהפיל הכי הרבה מטוסי אויב פורש לפנסיה במוזיאון חיל האוויר
ידיעות אחרונות, 9 February 2015 (Hebrew)
איתן סטיבה מתאר הפלת 2 מטוסי סוחוי-22, מטוס מיג 23 ומסוק גאזל ב-11.6.1982
, באתר "מרקיע שחקים" (Hebrew)
IAF F-16 Netz 107
photos in

{{F-16 Fighting Falcon variants Israeli Air Force General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon Individual aircraft