- Yes
- No
Introduction
The IAI Kfir TC.2 was (officially) the first trainer variant of the IAI Kfir series of aircraft. This variant was a two seater version that had been modified from the Kfir C.2 with airframe modifications that were required to fit the new tandem seat cockpit.
Kfir TC.2 number 303 taking off. Notably this was the first production Kfir TC.2 airframe.
History
As detailed in the suggestions of the Dassault Mirage IIIBJ and the IAI Nesher B, The Israeli Air Force squadrons that utilized Kfir aircraft during the second half of the 1970’s initially used the trainer versions of the Mirage III and Nesher respectively to train pilots to fly Kfir aircraft. This was initially seen as a sufficient solution as the characteristics of these trainers and Kfirs are similar in terms of handling, seeing as all of them are tailless delta winged fighters derived from the Mirage III, however, towards the late 70’s the circumstances have changed. The number of trainer Mirages and Neshers in Israeli Air Force inventory, which were already low to begin with, have steadily become lower and lower primarily due to the sale of many of them to export customers. Due to this the IAF set out a requirement for a new trainer aircraft for their Kfir squadrons, this time requiring it be itself a version of the Kfir in order for the trainer versions to be on par with the fighter aircraft they trained pilots to use.
Kfir TC.2 number 301, nicknamed Oscar (אוסקר) as can be seen by the writing near the nose, under service with the 144th “Guardians of the Arava” squadron.
Kfir TC.2 number 301 while in service with the 149th “Shattering Parrot” squadron. Notably it is seen carrying wing mounted and centerline mounted drop tanks as well as missile rails for air-to-air missiles
Responding to the new requirement IAI set out to develop a trainer variant of the Kfir based on the newest version they had developed which was the Kfir C.2. When developing this new trainer variant IAI ran into a problem as the tandem seat cockpit the aircraft was required to have was too big to fit into the aircraft without removing some internal components. In order to solve this, they settled on completely removing the internal fuel tank that was positioned just behind the cockpit in the fighter version, significantly decreasing the range of this Kfir variant without external drop tanks, however this also necessitated the removal of the air conditioning system which was located just behind the now removed fuel tank. To solve this the engineers at IAI completely redesigned the nose section of the aircraft, making the nose of the trainer version considerably larger than the fighter version, as the air conditioning system was now placed at the back of the new nose leaving room for the Elta EL/M-2001B ranging radar to stay at the front of the new nose. The new nose section was also designed to be drooped down, this was done in order to allow the pilot to properly see the runway during landings despite the larger nose. The trainer variant retained all other aspects of the Kfir C.2 in terms of armament carriage capability and avionics, having access to the SPS-200 RWR and countermeasure blocks on the spine under the rear fuselage.
Kfir TC.2 number 305, nicknamed Hanit (חנית) as can be seen by the writing near the nose, under service with the 144th “Guardians of the Arava” squadron.
The new trainer version of the Kfir was named the Kfir TC.2, with T obviously standing for it being a trainer variant. Originally IAI wanted to name it the Kfir TC since it was the first trainer version, however as luck would have it, there was already a different version of the Kfir used for technology demonstration bearing this name, and so the chosen name was the Kfir TC.2 which coincidentally also fit it as it was based on the Kfir C.2. The first production example of the Kfir TC.2, which later received tail number 303, flew on the 28th of September 1980. 10 examples of the Kfir TC.2 were produced for the Israeli Air Force as well as an additional 2 examples which were produced for the Ecuadorian Air Force as an export sale, seeing as it was then a prominent export customer of Kfir aircraft, making a total of 12 Kfir TC.2s that were produced.
Kfir TC.2 FAE 930, one of the two examples produced for the Ecuadorian Air Force.
In the Israeli Air Force the tail numbers of the Kfir TC.2s were marked 301-310 and they served with all of the Kfir operating squadrons. Additionally, some of the Kfir TC.2s were also occasionally used by Manat, the Israeli Air Force’s aviation test center squadron. Kfir TC.2s of the Israeli Air Force, in addition to being used for training pilots, were also often borrowed by IAI as escorting aircraft when they conducted flight tests for their newer projects.
Kfir TC.2 number 310 equipped with a pair of training Python 3 missiles as well as a pair of inert GBU-12 laser guided bombs. The laser bomb mounting was likely done only for display and/or testing of the new type of hardpoint mounting for later versions of the Kfir. Either way the Kfir TC.2 lacked the capability of mounting either a buddy lasing receiver or it’s own designation pod and so it would not have been able to actually use this weapon.
These photos demonstrate cases where Kfir TC.2s were borrowed by IAI as escorting aircraft for flight tests, in these cases escorting the IAI Lavi T.D and IAI MiG-21 2000 respectively.
The Kfir TC.2s were retired from service with the Israeli Air Force along with the retirement of the Kfir C.2 and C.7 from service in 1995. A single example, number 310, is kept to this day on display at the Israeli Air Force museum in Hatzerim Israel. Several other examples were upgraded into more modern variants and sold to the Colombian Air Force.
Potential in War Thunder
The Kfir TC.2 functionally would simply be a Kfir C.2 with a lower internal fuel load capability and 2 pilots. As such it could potentially be implemented as a researchable counterpart to the Kfir C.2 which is already implemented in War Thunder as an event vehicle. It could also potentially be implemented as a squadron vehicle to give players more options to enter the later ranks of the Israeli Aviation Tech Tree.
Specifications
Type: Tandem seat conversion jet trainer
Country of origin: Israel
Wing span: 8.22 meters
Length: 16.49 meters
Height: 4.55 meters
Powerplant: General Electric J-79J-1E rated at 5,410 kgf dry and 8120 kgf on full afterburner
Max speed: Mach 2.3 at 11,000 meters
Max altitude: 17,680 meters
Range: 1,300 km
Weight: Empty - 7,280 kg, Fully loaded - 14,700 kg
Armaments: 2x30 mm DEFA 552A cannons with 140 rounds per gun (280 total), up to two AIM-9D or G Sidewinder missiles or two Shafrir 2 missiles or two Python 3 missiles, up to 4,295 kg of ordnance including GAU-4 20mm cannon pods, FFAR and Zuni rockets, Mk.80 series bombs, M117 bombs, an M118 bomb, various French and Israeli made bombs, SUU-25 illumination paraflare pods and up to 3,900 liters of fuel in external fuel tanks.
Additional photos
Spoiler
