IAI F-21A Lion

Israel Aerospace Industries · Israel · first flew 1973 · fighter

The F-21A Lion is the US military designation for the IAI Kfir C1, a batch of Israeli delta-wing fighters leased to the US Navy and Marine Corps as dissimilar air combat training adversaries.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	Mid-mounted, delta
E — Engines	1 × turbojet, fuselage-mounted
F — Fuselage	15.65 m fuselage
T — Tail	Conventional

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Spot it by:

Israeli Kfir leased to USN/USMC as adversary trainer
Single-turbojet delta-wing fighter with canard foreplanes
Designated F-21A by the US military

Delta wing with prominent fixed canard foreplanes ahead of the cockpit and a distinctive square intake under the nose; closely resembles the Mirage III/5 family but the canards and J79 exhaust nozzle distinguish it.

Specifications

The IAI F-21A Lion has a length of 15.65 m (51 ft).
It has a wingspan of 8.22 m (27 ft).
Its maximum speed is 2440 km/h (1516 mph).
Typical crew: 1.

Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.

History

Israel Aerospace Industries developed the Kfir (Lion Cub) in the early 1970s by mating a General Electric J79 turbojet to an airframe derived from the Dassault Mirage 5. The US Navy leased 12 aircraft in 1985 for use by VF-43 and VMFT-401 as realistic MiG-21-class adversaries, designating them F-21A.

Variants

Only the baseline Kfir C1 was leased as the F-21A; Israel also operated the more capable C2 and C7 variants with enlarged canards and avionics improvements, but these were not part of the US lease.

Where you'll see it

Operated by the US Navy and Marine Corps from 1985 until retirement in 1988, based at NAS Oceana and MCAS Yuma; not flown by any UK operator.

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