Israel The
Kfir entered service with the IAF in 1975, the first units being assigned to the
101st "First Fighter" Squadron. Over the following years, several other squadrons were also equipped with the new aircraft. The role of the Kfir as the IAF's primary air superiority asset was short-lived, as the first
F-15 Eagle fighters from the United States were delivered to Israel in 1976. The Kfir's first recorded combat action took place on November 9, 1977, during an Israeli air strike on a training camp at Tel Azia, in
Lebanon. The only air victory claimed by a Kfir during its service with the IAF occurred on June 27, 1979, when a Kfir C.2 (piloted by a pilot referred to as "Eshel") shot down a Syrian
MiG-21 (sometimes attributed as a shared kill with an F-15). By the time of the Israeli invasion of southern Lebanon in 1982 (
Operation Peace for Galilee) the IAF was able to use both its F-15s and
F-16s for air superiority roles, leaving the Kfirs to carry out unescorted strike missions. Though several kills were claimed by the Syrians during the 1982 war, only one can be confirmed as an air to air kill and is attributed to a Syrian MiG-21bis on the 9th of June, 1982. Shortly afterwards, all IAF C.2s began to be upgraded to the C.7 version, with enhanced weight performance, making the Kfir more suitable to its new fighter-bomber role. During the second half of the 1990s, the Kfirs were withdrawn from active duty in the IAF, after almost twenty years of continuous service. Israel Aerospace Industries announced in August 2013 it will offer pre-owned Kfir fighter jets to foreign customers, with a 40-year guarantee. Unit price is reported to be $20 million. A few Eastern European and Latin American countries have expressed interest, Israel's
Globes business daily reported. By October 2013, Israel Aerospace Industries was in "very advanced negotiations" with at least two air forces interested in the Kfir Block 60. An aircraft can be delivered within one year, with two squadrons to be sold in two to three years. The Block 60 is offered with the
Elta EL/M-2032 with open architecture avionics to allow a customer to install other systems. The sensor provides an all-aspect, look-down/shoot-down performance in air-to-air and air-to-ground missions, with the capability to simultaneously track up to 64 targets. The J79 has been overhauled to zero flight hours, and would need replacement after 1,600 hours.
Foreign service Since the J79 turbojet engine is an U.S. design, although manufactured
under license in Israel, all export sales of the Kfir are subject to prior approval being granted by the
U.S. State Department, a fact that has limited the sale of the Kfir to foreign nations. As of 2006, the IAI Kfir has been exported to
Colombia,
Ecuador, and
Sri Lanka.
Colombia As a result of a trade agreement between Colombia and Israel in 1989 the Colombian government bought a batch of 12 ex-IAF Kfir C.2s and one TC.2, which were delivered to the
Colombian Air Force (
FAC) in 1989–1990. Since then, all the C.2s have been upgraded to the C.7 variant. The
FAC Kfirs have been widely used in ground-attack missions during counter-insurgency operations against Colombian terrorists. As of 2004 two aircraft had been lost in accidents. In February 2008, Colombia signed a deal with the Israeli government for an additional 24 ex-IAF Kfir aircraft. It was estimated that these aircraft will most probably be upgraded by
Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) to C.10 standard. In June 2009, IAI delivered the first batch of upgraded Kfirs to the Colombian Air Force in a ceremony held at IAI's facilities in Israel. In attendance at the ceremony was Juan Hurtado Cano, the
Colombian Ambassador to Israel, high-ranking officers from the Colombian Air Force, and executives from the International Defense Cooperation Directorate of the
Israeli Ministry of Defense (
IMOD-SIBAT). This was a part of a multi-year contract awarded in late 2007 and worth over $150 million to upgrade the existing Colombian Air Force Kfirs, and to supply additional jets. The additional Kfir jets, models C.10-C.12, have been upgraded and improved to include IAI's latest technologies and products. On July 20, 2009, a Kfir crashed near the city of
Cartagena. The Israeli pilots operating the plane were unharmed in the incident, but the jet was destroyed. Israel Aerospace Industries said in a statement that the plane was flying a refresher flight, and that the aircraft didn't come to a stop on the landing strip, landing outside it. The director of the Israel Aerospace Industries announced that an investigation into the incident had already begun and that a panel to probe the crash had been appointed. On July 22, 2009, IAI informed the
Colombian Air Force that the accident was caused by an unspecified human error. As a result, IAI will replace the unit lost with another one and it will resume delivery to the Colombian Air Force. On November 1, 2013, two Colombian Air Force IAI Kfirs intercepted
Russian Air Force Tu-160s that had entered Colombian airspace. The Russian aircraft had taken off from
Simón Bolívar International Airport Venezuela. On October 10, 2017, Colombian IAI Kfirs were updated with the EL/M 2052 AESA Radar and incorporated the
I-Derby-ER Active Air to Air Missile and the Python-5 Air to Air Infrared Missile As of 2019, 23 Colombian IAI Kfirs remain in service. In April 2025, President of Colombia
Gustavo Petro announced that the fleet of IAI Kfirs of the Colombian Aerospace Force is to be retired and replaced by new
Saab JAS 39 Gripen aircraft. In May 2025, the first IAI Kfir of the Colombian Aerospace Force was retired and installed as a gate guardian at
Captain Germán Olano Moreno Air Base.
Ecuador In 1981,
Ecuador and Israel signed a sales agreement for ten refurbished and new ex-IAF Kfir C.2s and two TC.2s, which were delivered to the
Ecuadorian Air Force (
FAE) in 1982–1983. The Kfirs formed the 2113rd Squadron (
Lions) of the FAE's 21st Fighter Wing, based at Taura AFB, on the Ecuadorian western lowlands. The
FAE Kfirs went into action during the 1995
Cenepa War between Ecuador and
Peru. Relying on its fleet of subsonic
A-37Bs for low-level ground-attack missions on Peruvian positions, the Ecuadorian Air Force held back its
Mirage F.1s and Kfir C.2s for use as escorts and interceptors. On February 10, 1995, a Kfir C.2 shot down a
Peruvian Air Force Cessna A-37B with a
Shafrir 2 IR-homing AAM. In 1996, with tensions still running high between Ecuador and Peru, the Ecuadorians acquired four additional Kfirs (three C.2 and one TC.2) after securing approval from the
U.S. State Department. In 1998, with its aging squadron of
SEPECAT Jaguar fighter-bombers about to be withdrawn from active duty, Ecuador began talks with Israel for the sale of a new batch of eight Kfirs. Fearing an escalation of the arms race in South America (Peru had recently acquired 18
MiG-29s and 18
Su-25s from
Belarus), the United States blocked the deal. As an alternative, Ecuador and Israel signed an agreement in 1999 for the delivery of two Kfir C.10s and for the conversion of an undisclosed number of the ''FAE's'' original C.2s to the C.10 version, referred to in Ecuador as
Kfir CE, featuring a Helmet Mounted Display System, and armed with Python 3 and Python 4 IR-homing AAMs. By 2005, Ecuador had lost four Kfirs, including one TC.2, due to accidents since the aircraft entered service in 1982.
Sri Lanka Headquarters,
Colombo The
Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) acquired six Kfir C.2s and a single TC.2 in 1995–1996. A further nine aircraft had been added to the inventory by 2005, including four C.2s and four C.7s acquired in 2000. Currently the SLAF operates two TC.2s, two C.7s and six C.2s by the
No. 10 "Fighter" Squadron. The SLAF used their Kfirs to carry out attacks against
LTTE terrorists during the
Sri Lankan Civil War in
Sri Lanka. Two Kfir C.7s were destroyed on the ground in an LTTE attack on SLAF Katunayake air base, part of
Bandaranaike International Airport, on 24 July 2001. Three others were lost in non-combat related accidents during the Civil War period. None were lost in aerial combat. In March 2011, two Kfirs collided in mid-air during an airshow practice sortie. On June 30, 2021, it was announced that the IAI will upgrade five Sri Lankan Kfirs for a return to service with new systems and sensors under a US$50 million contract.
United States in 1988 Between 1985 and 1989, the
United States Navy and
United States Marine Corps leased 25 examples of the Kfir C.1, which were officially designated
F-21A and modified for use as unarmed
adversaries: mock opponents in
dissimilar air combat training (DACT). These aircraft had narrow-span canard foreplanes and two small rectangular strakes, one on either side of the nose, which considerably improved the aircraft's maneuverability and handling at low speeds. The 12 F-21 aircraft leased to the U.S. Navy, painted in a three-tone blue-gray "ghost" scheme, were operated by
Fighter Squadron 43 (VF-43), based at
NAS Oceana, Virginia. In 1988, they were returned and replaced by the
F-16N. The 13 aircraft leased to the U.S. Marine Corps were operated by Marine Fighter Training Squadron 401 (
VMFT-401), a
4th Marine Aircraft Wing/
Marine Corps Reserve squadron at
Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Arizona. In addition to the blue-gray painted aircraft, the USMC also had some F-21s painted in Israeli colors and desert "flogger" schemes (named because they were to represent the schemes often worn by
Warsaw Pact MiG-23 "Floggers"). The Kfir was utilized because they both shared the common characteristic of being very fast-accelerating, as well as achieving a top speed of above Mach 2. The MiG-23 was targeted as the "enemy" aircraft because at this time the MiG-23 was being introduced in very large numbers, and was a very capable aircraft compared to earlier Soviet types. These USMC F-21 aircraft were replaced by
F-5E aircraft when the F-21s were returned in 1989 (although this left the training units without any aircraft capable of accurately simulating the Mach 2+ and fast-accelerating MiG-23). Six Kfirs are also used by the US firm
Airborne Tactical Advantage Company (ATAC), a civilian defense contractor that provides tactical adversary aircraft services to the US military. ATAC provides airborne tactical training, threat simulation, and research & development. ATAC's corporate headquarters and primary operating location is at
Patrick Henry International Airport in Newport News, VA, with additional permanent operating locations at US
Naval Air Stations and
Marine Corps Air Stations in California, Nevada, Hawaii and Japan. ATAC also operates
Hawker Hunter F.58s. On March 6, 2012, an ATAC Kfir,
FAA registration N404AX, crashed while landing at
NAS Fallon, Nevada after a flight supporting the
Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center. The pilot, a retired USN officer, was fatally injured.
Potential users Taiwán In the early 1990s, IAI was looking to export 40 Kfir-C fighters to the
Republic of China (
Taiwan) in a deal estimated to have been worth US$400 million to $1 billion; however, the deal ultimately fell through.
Argentina During 2013, the
Argentine Air Force commenced negotiations with Israel for 18 Kfir Block 60 fighters as an alternative to another deal for 16 ex-Spanish
Mirage F1 fighters. During mid-2014, industry sources claim IAI will "soon" receive an order from the Argentine Air Force for Kfir Block 60s after their purchase of surplus Spanish Mirage F1s failed. But Argentina had been interested in Kfir since a long time ago. First time was in the end of 1970s but Carter administration vetoed engines J79 sale to any South American countries. Argentina bought
Nesher planes fron Israel. In 1984, Argentina explored the possibility to locally manufacture Kfir C7, to be done by
Fábrica Militar de Aviones Sociedad del Estado (FMASE). Periodically it was again negotiated but other programs frustrated the sale. ==Variants==