| The Israeli Air Force's (IAF) F-16I Sufa (Storm), a two seater, is the latest version of the Lockheed Martin F-16. Israel's Peace Marble V foreign military sales program will supply the Israel Air Force (IAF) with 102 two-seat aircraft and is the largest Israeli F-16 acquisition yet. The F-16I is specially designed for Israel, and has been named 'Soufa,' or 'Storm' in Hebrew, by the IAF. The F-16I for Israel is based on current Block 50/52 production aircraft. The F-16I has a 23,600-kilogram [52,000 pound] take-off weight, considerably more than the earlier F-16s in IAF service, and is armed with the AMRAAM air-to-air missile. he Israeli F-16I Soufa/Sufah (Storm/Thunderstorm), compliments Israel's deterrent strategy by further strengthening the potential threat to carry out retaliatory strikes throughout the Middle East. The extended flight range reportedly allows Israeli forces to attack targets well within Iran without having to refuel. Some offered the interpretation that the 'I' in the F-16I, stands for Iran [actually it stands for Israel]. The bumps over the wing on both sides of the plane are conformal fuel tanks. Use of conformal fuel tanks (CFTs) extends the F-16's effective mission range/loiter time up to 50 percent, depending on the mission profile. CFTs can be used for both air-to-ground and air-to-air missions. They can be easily removed. They also increase weapon payloads by freeing-up additional store stations. The baseline F-16 has a combat radius of 740 nm (1,370 km) with two 2,000-lb bombs and two AIM-9, with 1,040 US gal external tanks. |