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The Israel Aircraft Industries Nesher (Hebrew: נשר, 'griffon vulture', also translated to 'eagle') was the Israeli version of the French Dassault Mirage 5 multirole fighter. [ 1 ]
IAI Kfir: 1975: 1996: Kfir (Lion Cub) כפיר IAI Nesher: 1971: 1986: Nesher (Vulture) נשר IAI Lavi: 1986: 1987: Lavi (Lion) לביא Lockheed Martin F-16I: 2004-
The Nesher was followed by the IAI Kfir ("lion cub"), which was developed as a result of Israel's need for adapting the Dassault Mirage III to the specific requirements of the Israeli Air Force. The Kfir entered service with the IAF in 1975, the first units being assigned to the 101st "First Fighter" Squadron .
The squadron was established in 1972 at the Etzion Airbase of the IAF, in the northeast Sinai, not far from the Gulf of Aqaba.The first planes that were taken in by the "Guardians of the Arava" squadron were IAI Nesher planes which was the first fighter plane produced by IAI according to the plans of the French Dassault Mirage 5.
The programme integrated technology from the Israeli-built IAI Kfir, [2] which had been derived from the Mirage 5/IAI Nesher. The upgrade programme, which was known as Project Cushion , produced three variants; the two-seat Cheetah D , the single-seat Cheetah E , and the single-seat Cheetah C .
The vulture represents the name of the city and the cement factory from its inception. The 4 hills represent the mountainous terrain and the four original neighborhoods that constituted the settlement–Ben Dor, Tel Hanan, Nesher, and Givat Nesher. The factory and chimney represent the industrial foundation the city was established upon.
At the beginning of the war, the squadron was still in the process of being established, only six months after receiving the "Nesher" planes. The squadron operated mainly in interception missions, carried out 660 operational sorties, of which 600 were air-to-air sorties and 60 attack sorties on both fronts.
The Mirage 5 grew out of a request to Dassault from the Israeli Air Force.Since the weather over the Middle East is clear and sunny most of the time, the Israelis suggested removing the air intercept radar and its avionics, normally located behind the cockpit, from the standard Mirage IIIE to reduce cost and maintenance, and replacing them with more fuel storage for attack missions.