- Yes
- No
Introduction
The IAI Kfir Technolog Canard (TC) was the final configuration of the IAI Technolog, a heavily modified Dassault Mirage IIIBJ used to test and demonstrate significant modifications that were intended to be implemented on the IAI Kfir series of aircraft. It is thanks to this aircraft that the IAI Kfirs ended up featuring some of their most iconic features and is unique in it’s own right by essentially being the first configuration of a two seater Kfir.
In the photo is Mirage IIIBJ number 88 being implanted with the American J79 engine in the very early stages of the Technolog program.
Early Development history
The story of the Kfir TC begins with the acquisition of the base airframe from which it was developed, the Dassault Mirage IIIBJ. I’ve made a separate suggestion that details the acquisition history of Mirage IIIBJs for the Israeli Air Force if you wish to read more about it, but in short, the IAF acquired a total of 4 Mirage IIIBJ trainers from the French Dassault Aviation, of which 3 were acquired in 1966 and included Mirage IIIBJ number 88 which is the relevant airframe for this suggestion. Since it’s acquisition Mirage IIIBJ number 88 was used by the IAF as a tandem seat conversion trainer as well as a fighter-bomber aircraft, particularly during the 1967 Six Day War.
At the same time in April of 1968, due to the relative unreliability of the SNECMA Atar 9B engine, the IAF along with engineers of the IAI company began looking into the potential feasibility of replacing the engine of the IAF’s Mirage airframes with either the British Rolls Royce Spey or the American General Electric J79. After serious considerations were made it was decided to move forward with tests by using one of the IAF’s Mirage IIIBJs as the test airframe for the project for which number 88 was selected and transferred to IAI in April of 1969. Following the acquisition of the first F-4E Phantoms by the IAF it was naturally decided in the end to use the General Electric J79 engine, and after a few setbacks IAI received in February of 1970 a license to locally produce the J79 and modify existing spare engines originally sent for the F-4Es to a local Israeli version which was designated J79-IAI-J1E (shortened to J-79J-1E in most sources). This version featured some slight differences from the original J79-GE-17 such as smokeless combustors, slightly uprated engine performance over Mach 1and a titanium heat shield for the afterburner.
The following photos show the Technolog during the early stages of the program, testing the implementation of the new J79 engine.
With the New J79 engines in hand IAI reengined Mirage IIIBJ number 88, now renamed the IAI Technolog, and replaced the rear cockpit with with telemetry equipment to record flight data. The Technolog achieved it’s first flight with the new engine on the 21st of September 1970 with test pilot Danny Shapira as the pilot. The test flight went smoothly although, due to a malfunction caused by incorrect wiring, the engine fire alert went off in the cockpit, quickly found out to be a false alarm thanks to help from the escort aircraft during the flight.
In the following photos is the Technolog after it’s modification to the initial configuration of what came to be known as the “Technolog Canard”. Note the presence of the airframe modifications that were later implemented on the IAI Kfir C.2 onwards: The canard surfaces, nose cone strakes and the dog toothed leading edge for the main wings.
Technolog Canard
After several years of successful testing with the new engine IAI decided to further modify the Technolog to test the potential implementation of other airframe modification in future versions of the IAI Kfir which was at the time in development. Primarily, IAI wanted to test the implementation of static canard surfaces on the aircraft to improve maneuverability at low speeds and high angles of attack. Additionally IAI also added to the aircraft strakes on the nose cone and a dog toothed profile for the leading edge of the main wings which were also thought to benefit flight stability and maneuverability.
The modifications were applied throughout 1973 and the Technolog, now called Technolog Canard, first flew with them in July of 1974.
In the photo is the Technolog in it’s final configuration called “Kfir TC”, now also renumbered from aircraft 88 to 988. Note the rear cockpit is now once again present as well as the new wing slats that are open in this photo.
Kfir TC
Finally, after the project was considered complete, the Technolog Canard was brough to it’s final configuration called Kfir TC (TC standing for Technolog Canard). The Kfir TC was essentially kept as a marketing display aircraft to show off the capabilities of the Kfir series of aircraft, hence why it was also colored in a bold dark blue with white accents. It also continued to be used as a test aircraft for the Kfir series. The final configuration included the reinstalling of the rear cockpit as well as the implementation of leading edge wing slats, a feature which was tested for potential implementation for the Kfir series as well as the IAI Lavi but did not end up being adopted.
The IAI Kfir TC with the slats folded.
After finishing it’s career as a demonstration aircraft the IAI Kfir TC was handed over to the Israeli Air Force museum in Hatzerim where it remains to this day. the Kfir TC was also used during the filming of the movie Krav Avir (also called Air War) that released in 2024 where it was used as a replacement for a Mirage IIIBJ during the film, going full circle with the history of this aircraft’s origins.
Additional technical details
The IAI Kfir TC was primarily an aircraft used to test airframe modifications and not avionics. This is very well present in the fact that it does not feature any countermeasures and still uses the old Mirage detection RWR that it retained from it’s original configuration as a Mirage IIIBJ, as can be identified thanks to the rounded RWR antenna over the aircraft’s rudder. It can therefore also be presumed that the Kfir TC very likely did not receive the Elta EL/M-2001B radar rangefinder. It is also known that the Kfir TC retained the 30mm DEFA cannons, and was used in tests for launching AAMs as well as ordinance ejection tests, which means that it at the very least should have retained it’s ordinance carriage capabilities from it’s days as a Mirage IIIBJ.
Closeup of the Kfir TCs wing slats, uniquely found only on the Kfir TC among IAI Kfir variants.
Potential in War Thunder
The Kfir TC presents a very interesting option for the Israeli tree as it is an aircraft with superior flight performance to the Kfir C.2 (thanks to it’s lower weight and wing slats) but significantly inferior avionics (lack of countermeasures, much older RWR, Lack of radar rangefinder, slightly lower ammo count, likely lack of advanced AAMs and inferior ordinance carriage capability). This means that it could be hard to find a suitable place for the aircraft in the game but, depending on the potential BR placement, it could have fairly interesting gameplay in War Thunder that could be very different from already implemented Kfir variants.
Specifications
Type: Technology Demonstrator
Country of origin: Israel
Wing span: 8.22 meters
Length: 15.6 meters
Height: 4.5 meters
Powerplant: General Electric J-79J-1E rated at 5,410 kgf dry and 8512 kgf on full afterburner
Max speed: Mach 2.4 at 9,000 eters
Max altitude: 22,860 meters
Range: 1,250 km
Weight: Empty - 6,840 kg, Fully loaded - 12,480 kg
Armaments: 2x30 mm DEFA 552A cannons with 125 rounds per gun (250 total), 2xAIM-9D, 2xShafrir 2 (more advanced missiles not confirmed), 2x250kg Type 25 bombs, 2x400kg Type 21 bombs, up to 3,900 liters of fuel in external fuel tanks (capability assumed to be retained from Mirage IIIBJ, additional ordinance types unknown)