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

Israeli Air Force The Israeli Air Force (IAF; , commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial and space warfare branch of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Indep ...

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

Operation Opera Operation Opera (), 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. The Israeli operation ca ...

, 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 in all lowercase) is an Israeli news and general-content website, and the online outlet for the '' Yedioth Ahronoth'' newspaper. History Ynet launched on June 6, 2000, in Hebrew, following other Hebrew outlet's website launches ...

, 11 February 2015

Operational service

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

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

during 1980 and were issued to 117 Squadron (Israel) of the

. ''Netz 107'' was the first F-16 to touch Israeli soil when it landed on 2 July 1980 at Ramat David Airbase. On 7 June 1981 ''Netz 107'' took part in

, piloted by Amos Yadlin, 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 The Syrian Air Force () is the air force branch of the Syrian Armed Forces. It was established in 1948, and first saw action in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Under Ba'athist Syria until December 8, 2024, it was known as the Syrian Arab Air Forc ...

MiG-23 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-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-generation jet fighter, alongside similar Soviet aircra ...

. During Operation Peace for Galilee it shot down 6 more Syrian aircraft. On 9 June 1982,

Eliezer Shkedi Aluf Eliezer "Eli" Shkedy (Hebrew: אליעזר "אלי" 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 C ...

shot down two

s, although one was shared with another pilot. On Friday 11 June 1982 pilot Eytan Stibbe shot down four Syrian aircraft. Several years later ''Netz 107'' was re-allocated to 253 Squadron (Israel) 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 in Israel. 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 ...

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 image hosting service, image and Online video platform, 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 previously a co ...

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