AMK 1/48 KFIR C2/C7

The Israel Aircraft Industries Kfir (Hebrew: "Lion Cub") is an Israeli-built all-weather, multirole combat aircraft based on a modified French Dassault Mirage 5 airframe, with Israeli avionics and an Israeli-built version of the General Electric J79 turbojet engine. The project that would ultimately give birth to the Kfir can be traced back to Israel's need for adapting the Dassault Mirage IIIC to the specific requirements of the Israeli Air Force. The Kfir program originated in the quest to develop a more capable version of the IAI Nesher, which was already in series production.

After General De Gaulle embargoed the sale of arms to Israel, the IAF feared that it might lose qualitative superiority over its adversaries in the future, which were receiving increasingly advanced Soviet aircraft. The main and most advanced type of aircraft available to the IAF was the Mirage, but a severe problem developed due to the Mirage fleet's depletion due to attrition after the Six-Day War. Domestic production would avoid the problem of the embargo completely; efforts to reverse engineer and reproduce components of the Mirage were aided by Israeli espionage efforts to obtain technical assistance and blueprints from third-party Mirage operators.

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 airstrike 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 shot down a Syrian MiG-21. Israel Aerospace Industries announced in August 2013 that it would 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.

Since the J79 turbojet engine is a 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.

Features:

• Scale: 1:48
• Includes: Plastic sprue, plastic sprue (Clear), decal sheet (waterslide)
• Full range of external stores and weapons
• Detailed cockpit and landing gears
• Excellent molding
• Item Size: 35 x 20 x 8.2 cm