New A-4E 'Ayit' (Eagle) & F-4E 'Kurnass' (Sledgehammer)
We share with you today two new Israeli planes that were crucial in War of Attrition and Yom Kippur War air battles. The A-4 Skyhawk and F-4 Phantom. These are updated models and the textures are very high resolution. The cockpit models have also been improved.
The Israeli Air Force (IAF) was one of the largest export customer for the A-4 Skyhawks and F-4 Phantoms. The Skyhawk was the first U.S. warplane to be offered to the IAF, marking the point where the U.S. took over from France as Israel's chief military supplier. Deliveries began after the Six-Day War, and A-4s & F-4s soon formed the backbone of the IAF's ground-attack force. In IAF Service, the A-4 Skyhawk was named as the Ayit, Hebrew for Eagle. The first F-4Es, nicknamed "Kurnass" (Sledgehammer), and RF-4Es, nicknamed "Orev" (Raven), were delivered in 1969. IAF Skyhawks and Phantoms were the primary ground attack aircraft in the War of Attrition and the Yom Kippur War. They performed very well and were liked by their crews but suffered heavy losses against modern SAMs and AAA, especially the Skyhawks because of their slow speed. The IAF improved both the Skyhawks and Phantoms over the years to increase their effectiveness. We will have several versions of the A-4 and F-4 in our next release, including reconnaissance versions that will survey the battlefield and reveal enemy positions similar to how the UAV works in BF2.
The F-4 in particular gave the IAF a huge boost in capability. It could carry a massive amount of weaponry, including modern smart weapons, sensors and cameras and perform multiple combat roles. At the time the Phantom had no equal in terms of versatility and combat power. Although as the Americans learned in Vietnam, the mighty phantom could be beaten in close quarter dogfights by smaller and more nimble Soviet made fighters like the Mig-21 and even the older Mig-17.
As a really interesting side note the Israel's where working with the Americans under the Peace Jack program to develop a special high-performance reconnaissance F-4 phantom, this would have been called F-4X. It would have had specaily modified engines with a water injection system and new engine inlets which in theory have given it a top speed in excess of Mach 3 (over 2,000 mph (3,200 km/h) at high altitudes)!! The nose would have had the very advanced HIAC-1 LOROP camera. The US State Department became worried about developing an aircraft with performance similar to the SR-71 Blackbird and offensive capability beyond anything in domestic inventory for a foreign customer and forbade its export. The proposal was then modified to the RF-4X standard with the camera in the nose and removal of weapon carriage. However, the US Air Force withdrew from the project over concerns that a high-performance Phantom would jeopardize funding for the anticipated McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle.
If you are interested here is a really great article on the F-4X phantom program, which would have been the fastest and probably the ultimate phantom variant.
