Israel Day 5 - Israel Air Force Museum - Netz 107

Israel first acquired the F-16 in 1980.

The F-16 is not named the Fighting Falcon in Israeli service. Instead its called the Netz.

Netz 107 was the first of the F-16s to arrive in Israel, but that's not its claim to fame nor why it has a place in the Israeli Air Force Museum.

The word "Netz" meaning “Hawk” was the appellation attached to the F-16 A/B series of aircraft, and Netz 107 is an F-16A.

On June 7, 1981 Netz 107 along with 7 other F-16As and six F-15s flying cover took part in Operation Opera, the attack on Iraq's nuclear reactor.

Netz 107 piloted by Amos Yadlin, was the second plane to attack and hit the reactor, following the attack of the Squadron Commander Ze'ev Raz (yes, leaders lead) knocking the reactor out of commission. This prevented Saddam Hussein from acquiring nuclear weapons a strong desire he had at the time.

Nertz 107 went on to score six and a half air-to-air kills, the most by an F-16 in the world. 4 of these were MiG-23s and two were Su-22s (one of which was a gun kill) and a Syrian Aérospatiale Gazelle helicopter was also shot down by Netz 107. All of these kills took place in 1982.

Netz 107 is one of a handful of aircraft in the world that sports a nuclear reactor kill marker.

The F-16s have done well in Israeli service, from the first air-to-air kill by an F-16 ever on July 14 1981, shooting down a Syrian MiG 21 to today, Israeli F-16s have accounted for 53 enemy aircraft in combat and is the ISraeli Air Forces primary ground attack aircraft today.

Later F-I6s are not named Netz, each variant has a different name.

The F-16 C/D variants are named "Barak" meaning Lighting.

The latest F-16 Development, the F-16 I is named the "Sufa" or Storm.

Seeing Netz 107 was awesome. A historic aircraft involved in a major event in aviation and world history up close.