How Israel built the best jetfighter in the world... then abandoned it

Israel in the late 1970s found itself beset by rivals on all sides as well as severe internal division.

It was time to upgrade their ageing fleet of multi role fighter bombers such as the Douglas A4 Skyhawk and the IAI Kefir.

The Israeli Air Force was estimated to have a requirement for 300 aircraft, sixty of which were expected to be combat capable trainers.

The Levy 's empty weight was around 1300 kilograms lighter than its counterpart and benchmark, the F16 .

This allowed it to be significantly more manoeuvrable and reach a top speed of Mac 1.85 .

The Lavie possessed a combat radius of 250 nautical miles or an alternative armament of 2000 LB bonds enabled A-650 nautical mile combat radius.

On August 30th, 1987 , Israel 's cabinet engaged in a pivotal role to determine the fate of the Levy 's development.

The vote unfolded immense political polarisation, with the Israeli Labour Party instructing it's members to vote against the continuation of the levy.

The cabinet ultimately rejected the project's continuation by a narrow margin of 12:00 to 11:00 , with one cabinet member opting to abstain.

Subsequently, the Israeli government greenlit the acquisition of 90 F-16 C's from the United States , serving as an effective replacement for the Levy.