Israel Aerospace Industries
IAI-1124 Westwind
Photo: Robert Deering 10/28/2016
Dallas Executive Airport (RBD)
Dallas, Texas
Israel Aerospace Industries, is Israel's major aerospace and aviation manufacturer, producing aerial and astronautic systems for both military and civilian usage. It has 14,000 employees as of 2021. IAI is state-owned by the government of Israel.
PHOTOS        
Business Aircraft   Military AIrcraft    

IAI-1124
Westwind
 

Gulfstream 200
Galaxy
 

Kfir 
   

HISTORY

Israel Aerospace Industries was founded in 1953 as Bedek Aviation Company under the initiative of Shimon Peres, then director general of the Ministry of Defense, in order to maintain Israel Defense Forces aircraft. The company originally had 70 employees and recruited American born aviation expert Al Schwimmer as the company's founder and first president.

In 1959 Bedek began manufacturing its first aircraft, a V-tailed twinjet trainer of French design, the Fouga CM.170 Magister, locally called Tzukit (Monticola). The Tzukit became the Israeli Air Force principal trainer for 50 years. The IAI Tzukit was also used in the 1967 Six-Day War by 147 Squadron as a close support aircraft, attacking targets on the Egyptian front during the first day of the war, when Israel's more capable combat aircraft were deployed against Arab air bases and aircraft. They were then deployed against Jordanian forces, including armour, on the West Bank. The Magister proved effective at the close-support mission albeit with heavy casualties, with six being lost.

The first aircraft to be fully designed and built by IAI, the IAI Arava short take-off and landing transport aircraft, first flew in 1969 after three years of development.

In response to the French embargo, IAI began developing its own fighter aircraft, a derivative of the Mirage 5 called the IAI Nesher ("hawk"), in 1968. The Nesher entered service in 1971, in time for the Yom Kippur War. 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.

In 1969 IAI acquired North American Rockwell's Jet Commander series of business aircraft. This became the basis for the IAI Westwind line. Work on an improved Westwind – named the Astra – began in the late 1970s by stretching the fuselage and designing a new swept wing, with the first prototype flight occurring on 19 March 1984. The first production Astra flew on 20 March 1985, FAA certification came on 29 August 1985 and customer deliveries started in 1986.

In 1980 the Government of Israel decided to use the experience IAI had accumulated to develop and manufacture a modern fighter plane to be the mainstay of the Israel Air Force. The aircraft, called the IAI Lavi, was to be a superior attack aircraft with advanced weapons systems. It had its rollout in July 1986 and successful maiden flight in December 1986.However, the program was cancelled due to budget cuts.

In December 1997, the IAI Galaxy, a business jet with an intercontinental range developed as a joint venture Galaxy Aerospace with the Hyatt Corporation, made its first flight and entered service in 2000. In May 2001, General Dynamics' Gulfstream Aerospace bought IAI's Galaxy Aerospace Co. L.P. unit for $330 million, although IAI continues to perform the most of the assembly and development of the jets which are marketed by Gulfstream.

In 2003, Israel Aircraft Industries attempted to enter the VLJ (very light jet) Market by launching the Avocet ProJet, a 6–8 seat high utilization air taxi with a list price almost half the cost of the least expensive business jet available at that time. In early 2006, ProJet development stalled after a major undisclosed US OEM pulled out of the program due to unspecified reasons.

The company was working with the Aviation Technology Group on a military trainer version of the ATG Javelin, a fighter style personal jet. The version being developed would have competed against a large field of jet trainers at a much lower cost of acquisition and maintenance. ATG halted development of the Javelin in 2008 due to a lack of funds.

On 6 November 2006, IAI changed its corporate name from "Israel Aircraft Industries Ltd." to "Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd."; to more accurately reflect the current scope of the firm's business activities, which includes not just aircraft, but also systems, satellites and launchers, as well as maritime and ground systems.

On 4 September 2012, the Gulfstream G280, a new twin-engine business jet built by IAI, received full certification from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

In addition to local construction of fighter aircraft, IAI also designs and builds civil aircraft (including for Gulfstream with aircraft such as the G100/G150 and G200/G250 mid-sized business jets) and performs local maintenance and reconfiguration of foreign-built military and civilian aircraft. In addition, the company works on a number of missile, avionics, and space-based systems.

Although IAI's main focus is aviation and high-tech electronics, it also manufactures military systems for ground and naval forces. Many of these products are specially suited for the Israel Defense Forces needs, while others are also marketed to foreign militaries.

Source: Wikipedia

AIRCRAFT    
         
IAI-1121 Jet Commander   1969   Originated as North American Rockwell 1121 Jet Commander
IAI-1123 Commodore Jet   1971   Stretched 1121, GE CJ610-9 turbojets, thrust reversers, wing-tip tanks, APU
IAI-1124 Westwind I   1976   TFE731-3 turbofans, updated systems and avionics
IAI-1124A Westwind II   1980   Winglets, wing refinements, additional tank, upgraded avionics
IAI-1125 Astra   1985   New wing, modified fuselage, updated systems and avionics
IAI-1125 Astra SP   1990   Digital avionics
Gulfstream G100   1996   Iimproved engines, upgraded avionics
Gulfstream G150   2005   Fuselage stretched and widened, new nose, new avionics, uprated engines
Gulfstream G200 Galaxy   1998    New fuselage, improved engines, winglets, modified wing, upgraded avionics
Gulfstream G280   2011   All new fuselage, T-Tail, Wings, engines, systems and avionics
B377M Anak     Conversions of Boeing 377 Stratocruiser airliners into heavy lift military cargo aircraft
IAI Arava       Medium-sized STOL transport aircraft
IAI Nesher (Hawk)   1971   Fighter jet, derivative of the French Mirage 5.
IAI Kfir (Lion Cub)   1975   Fighter jet, developed from the Nesher.
IAI Lavi   1986   Fighter jet (Cancelled 1987)
IAI Nammer       Fighter jet, updated version of the Kfir.
IAI Avocet ProJet       Very light jet (Cancelled 2005)
ELTA-ELI-3001       AISIS – Airborne Integrated SIGINT System.
CAEW       Conformal Airborne Early Warning Aircraft – based on the Gulfstream G550 and equipped with the phalcon radar.