Israel Decommissions Last F-16C Barak 1 Fighters

The Israeli Air Force has retired the last F-16C Barak-1 fighter jet, which will be replaced by more modern aircraft.

This was reported by Janes.

The withdrawal of F-16C fighters is due to the fact that Israel is switching to modern F-35I fighters, which have received initial operational readiness as part of the Air Force.

“The end of the ‘Barak 1′ era as the last single-seat aircraft, which faithfully served the IAF’s squadrons for over three and a half decades, was withdrawn,” the press service stated.

In total, Israel used 81 Barak 1 fighter jets as interceptors to patrol the country’s airspace.

The aircraft were part of four combat squadrons (101, 105, 109 and 115) and the MANAT test center.

Despite the retirement of the Barak 1 aircraft, Israel will continue to operate the Suffa two-seat F-16.

To date, Israel operates 91 F-16I Suffa aircraft, which are used primarily for strikes against ground targets.

To maintain a high level of combat capability of the air component, Israel is making additional purchases of modern F-35I fighters.

Previously, Militarnyi reported that the Israeli government ordered an additional 25 F-35I fighters to form the third combat squadron of the country’s air force.

The agreement was signed on June 4, 2024, with representatives of the United States government, which will allow Israel to receive 25 additional modern fighters.

Due to the signing of this agreement, the country’s Air Force will be able to staff a third combat squadron, which will complement the already formed 116th and 140th Fighter Squadrons with F-35I and bring the total fleet of this type of aircraft to 75 units.