From a small country bullied by its neighbors, Israel has risen to become a powerful military force in the region
Since the 1960s, the Israeli Air Force has played a key role in defending the country
At the same time, it has proven to be very successful in striking critical targets at considerable range
The dominance of the Israeli air force is due to effective training, exploiting enemy weaknesses, flexible approach to design and procurement
Over the years, the Israelis have tried many different strategies to equip their air force with fighters including buying from France, the US
and even building the planes themselves
The country seems to have found a way to solve its problems with a combination of the two, with great effect
In its early years, Israel bought weapons from where they needed and could be found on the market, mainly from European manufacturers
By the late 1950s, the relationship with France eventually resulted in the delivery of high-tech military equipment, including Mirage fighters
and also substantial technical support for Israel's nuclear program
Mirage fighters became the core of the IAF during the Six-Day War that broke out in 1967
in which Israel destroyed much of its neighbors' air forces in the first hours of the conflict
However, in 1967, France imposed an arms embargo on Israel that put Tel Aviv in a difficult position
The IDF needed more fighters while also looking for capabilities that the Mirage couldn't provide, including mid-range ground attack
Under these conditions, the Israelis adopted an age-old strategy of simply stealing what they needed
To supplement their existing airframes, the Israelis acquired Mirage's engineering blueprints through espionage
Israel created two fighter jets: the Nesher and the Kfir
The second used a more powerful American engine, the General Electric J79-J1E turbojet
and was once considered the main fighter of the Israeli Air Force
Both aircraft were successful in terms of exports
with the Nesher serving in Argentina and the Kfir being sold to Colombia, Ecuador and Sri Lanka
This investment has helped fuel the growth of Israel's aerospace sector, which has major implications for the rest of the Israeli economy
It provided an important foundation for the early development of Israel's civilian technology sector
The success of IAI Kfir has proven that Israel can stand on its own in the field of aerospace technology
eliminating the need to depend on a foreign supplier or aid
Israel continued to invest heavily in aircraft purchased from abroad
The IDF began purchasing F-4 Phantom fighters in the late 1960s and F-15 Eagles in the mid-1970s
Israel believed that the combination of different fighters would enhance air combat capabilities
This led to the development of the Lavi, a light multirole fighter that could complement the F-15 Eagles
But developing a completely new fighter requires a huge investment
Moreover, the US controls military exports much more seriously than France
Despite initial optimism about the Lavi
Israel soon realized that the United States would not allow widespread export of this fighter with its key technologies
On the other hand, the export of Lavi will compete directly with the F-16
and will only exacerbate the problem between Israel and the US
In August 1987, Israel decided to abandon the Lavi project
All political attempts to revive the plane failed and Israel eventually bought a large number of F-16s from the US
Instead of pursuing its own fighter jet projects, Israel has recently tended to deeply modify the planes it buys from the US
The F-15I “Thunder” and the F-16I “Storm” are both deep Israeli upgrades
The IAF has also made major improvements on the F-35, to better suit its requirements
IAI has continued to have great success in developing and exporting, including bombs, ammunition and avionics
IAI has also entered the UAV market with great success both at home and abroad
And despite Lavi's debacle, Israel's high-tech defense sector has had a significant spillover effect on the private civilian economy
Israel's current aerospace strategy depends on its stable relationship with the United States
Fortunately for Israel, there is little reason to believe that this relationship will soon decay
And even if the unthinkable happens
the Israeli industry's mastery of developing critical components and support systems will keep it afloat before it finds another partner