Identifies and provides technical descriptions for the fighters, bombers, helicopters, reconnaissance and transport aircraft, and trainers used by Israel

Describes the early years of the Israeli Air Force - now one of the most efficient in the World. General Amos Amir's autobiography tells the story of the man, the warrior and the commander and the story of the struggling, newly-born Israeli Air Force. From the Six Days War of 1967 and onward, the IAF turned to be an extremely important component of the overall Israeli defense power. The years from the Sinai War in 1956, through the Six-Day-War, the Yom Kippur War in 1973 and the Lebanon War in 1982, were the years of Amir's flying, fighting and commanding career. Amir tells his own story in talented, vivid and fluent language. He succeeds in pulling the reader into his narrow cockpit from the early stages of his flying school to later air combats and reconnaissance missions. Tense dogfights, long-range reconnaissance missions and memorable aerial episodes, including piloting a Phantom jet from the deck of the American carrier Kitty Hawk, are vividly described. The book reveals previously untold stories about the traumatic Yom Kippur War of 1973 and the early stages of the war in Lebanon in the 1982.

Descriptions of 60 of the world's most exciting warplanes, 120 action photos, 180 line drawings, and 34 color profiles.

The largest weapons development effort ever undertaken by the State of Israel, the Lavi fighter program envisioned a new generation of high-performance aircraft. Controversially, Israel Aircraft Industries intended to develop and manufacture the fighters in Israel with U.S. financial support. The sophisticated planes, developed in the mid-1980s, were unique in design and intended to make up the majority of the Israeli Air Force. Though a great deal of prestige and money was staked, developmental costs increased and doubts arose as to whether the Lavi could be the warplane it was meant to be. Eventually, the program became a microcosm for the US-Israel relationship and of Israeli society itself--a study in the ambitions, fears, and internal divisions that shaped them. The fighter never made it to operational service. Despite the passage of time since its cancelation, the Lavi remains a controversial subject within Israeli society to this day. Until now, the full breadth and significance of the Lavi story has never been told. "Lavi: Israel's Lost Winged Lion" traces the evolution of the Lavi fighter from its genesis in the 1970s to its demise in August of 1987. Painting the era's political landscape on both sides of the ocean, author John Golan examines the roles of such Israeli military icons and political leaders as Ezer Weizman, Ariel Sharon, Menachem Begin, and Yitzhak Rabin. On the American side, Golan traces the evolution of U.S. government policy towards the program, detailing a complex, nuanced picture of the U.S. foreign policy apparatus and of U.S.-Israel relations in general--from President Reagan's public endorsement of the program on the White House lawn to Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger's unremitting attempts to cancel the program in succeeding years.

In depth descriptions and photographs of the aircraft of 21 nations presented with a unique human dimension that goes behind the machines to the people involved. Invaluable for specialists, accessible to enthusiasts, International Warbirds: An Illustrated Guide to World Military Aircraft, 1914–2000 puts the most legendary fighter aircraft of the 20th century developed outside the United States on vivid display. It offers 336 illustrated "biographies" of the most significant warplanes used in squadron service from World War I to the Balkan conflict, including numerous models from Great Britain, France, Russia, and Japan, as well as notable machines from Israel, Canada, China, India, Brazil, and other nations. Entries span the history and scope of military aircraft from bombers and fighters to transports, trainers, reconnaissance craft, sea planes, and helicopters, with each capsule history combining nuts-and-bolts technical data with the story of that model's evolution and use. Together, these portraits offer an exciting, well-researched tribute to visionary designers and builders as well as courageous pilots and crews across the globe, and tell a vivid tale of how air power became such a decisive factor in modern warfare.

Post-Yom Kippur War, Israel purchased the F-15 Eagle, the then world's best air-to-air fighter, in an effort to prevent another surprise attack from the air. For the first time in its history the IDF/AF operated a fighter that was a full generation ahead of opposing interceptors in the region. The first 'kill' F-15 Baz (Buzzard) arrived in Israel in 1976 and soon proved its worth in combat. Israeli Baz pilots were credited with 12.5 kills between 1979 and 1981, with 33 victories following during the June 1982 Lebanon War. Despite substantial combat, no Israeli F-15 has ever been lost to enemy action. In the 1990s the US government supplied the IDF/AF with the F-15I Ra'am (Thunder) to fulfill the long-range surface-to-surface missile mission post-Desert Storm. From A to I, the extremely capable, and combat-tested, Israeli F-15 force will continue to deter potential enemies well into the foreseeable future. This book examines the history and development of these units.