Kfir

Israel's first indigenously produced fighter jet, based on the airframe of the French Mirage 5 but re-engined with an Israeli-built version of the American J79 turbojet and fitted with domestic avionics. It served as the IDF Air Force's primary multirole fighter through the late 20th century and remains in export service.

In service since 1975 · 6 operator countries

Compiled from public sources ·primary reference ↗ ·last verified 2026-07-02

17,680

m ceiling

5,775

kg payload

Procurement snapshot

Availability & export

Israeli export-licensed

Israeli MoD (DECA/SIBAT) licensing; active export programme.

Channel: Direct commercial / G2G

Fielded & proven

Established · 6 operators

In service since 1975. Status: legacy · ~220 built.

Lifecycle cost (est.)

No public unit price to model from.

Interoperability

No standardised NATO calibre / datalink detected in public specs.

Derived guidance from public data — export regime by country of origin, lifecycle from the GAO ~30% acquisition rule. Verify eligibility, pricing and offsets with the manufacturer and your acquisition authority.

Full specifications

Performance

Speed, range, altitude and engagement capability.

Max speed (Mach) Maximum speed as a multiple of the speed of sound. Mach 2+ is typical for air-superiority fighters.: 2.3 Mach

Stronger than 85% of fighters
Combat radius Distance an aircraft can fly, complete its mission and return without refueling. Roughly a third of ferry range.: 768 km

Stronger than 35% of fighters
Service ceiling Maximum operating altitude. Higher gives energy advantage and sensor horizon.: 17,680 m

Stronger than 66% of fighters

Firepower

Armament, payload and guidance.

Main armament Primary weapon: main gun, cannon or missile type.: 2x 30 mm DEFA cannon
Hardpoints External stations for weapons and pods. More means bigger and more flexible loadouts.: 7

Stronger than 17% of fighters
Weapons payload Maximum ordnance weight the platform can carry. Higher means more strike capacity per sortie.: 5,775 kg

Stronger than 29% of fighters

Physical

Dimensions, weight and crew.

Length Overall length including gun/probe where applicable.: 15.65 m
Wingspan Wingtip-to-wingtip span.: 8.22 m
Height Overall height. Lower profile is harder to spot and hit for ground vehicles.: 4.55 m
Empty weight Weight without fuel, ammunition or crew.: 7,285 kg
Combat weight Fully loaded weight. Lighter eases transport and bridging limits; heavier often means more armor.: 11,603 kg
Crew Personnel required to operate. Fewer reduces exposure; autoloaders trade a loader for mechanical complexity.: 1

Propulsion

Engine, power and fuel.

Engine Powerplant model and type.: IAI Bedek-built General Electric J79
Engines Number of engines. Twin-engine gives redundancy at higher cost.: 1
Thrust Total engine thrust (with afterburner where applicable).: 83 kN

Stronger than 27% of fighters
Propulsion type Turbofan, turboshaft, diesel, gas turbine, solid-fuel rocket, ramjet…: Turbojet

Sensors & avionics

Radar, sensor suite and datalinks.

Radar Primary radar. AESA (active electronically scanned array) is the current state of the art.: Elta EL/M-2021B
Sensors IRST, EO/IR turrets, laser designators, sniper pods, thermal sights.: Elta EL/M-2021B multi-mode radar

Program

Cost, production scale and operators.

Units built Total production run. Higher means proven manufacturing, mature logistics and spares availability.: 220

Stronger than 51% of fighters
Operator countries Number of countries operating the system. More operators means broader support ecosystem.: 6

Stronger than 80% of fighters

Specifications compiled from public Israel Aerospace Industries and reference sources ↗. Published defense figures are approximations — treat comparisons as directional. Last verified 2026-07-02.

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