- Yes
- No
Introduction
The IAI Nesher B was a tandem seat trainer version of the single IAI Nesher A, developed as a direct copy of the French Dassault Mirage 5 due to an arms embargo following the events of the 1967 Six Day War that prohibited their sale to the Israeli Air Force. The Nesher B did not differentiate much from it’s single seat counterpart, however it does present an interesting airframe configuration that is worth exploring as a separate aircraft.
Disclaimer
- There are several sources, mainly of foreign origin, that designate the single seat variant of the Nesher as Nesher S and the two seat trainer as Nesher T. According to the sources I have that specifically mentioned the variant designations, all of which are Israeli and one of which being a book that was directly published by the manufacturing company IAI, those designations are false and the actual designations were Nesher A for the single seat version and Nesher B for the two seater trainer.
Development history
The two seater Nesher B was a further development of the single seat Nesher A, which was itself developed by IAI as a direct copy of the Dassault Mirage 5 with minor differences in order to overcome the French arms Embargo against Israel that began in 1968 following the 1967 Six Day War and the Israeli raid on Beirut’s international airport in 1968. IAI began development of the Nesher A in 1969, with the project initially receiving the designation Ra’am A. The development of the aircraft was aided closely by Dassault despite the French embargo, giving IAI a production license of the aircraft and delivering two complete Mirage 5 airframes to Israel marked as “spare parts”. The SNECMA Atar 9C engines, which could not be supplied under the French embargo, were built locally in Israel from the get go using stolen plans and drawings from the Swiss plant at Solzer where the engine was manufactured under license. The Nesher A was completed and the first airframes officially entered service with the Israeli Air Force in 1971 with deliveries lasting until 1974. Nesher As saw combat during the 1973 Yom Kippur War where it proved to be both a competent fighter aircraft and a ground strike platform.
Following the success of the Nesher A, 50 examples of which were manufactured, IAI set out to also produce in parallel to it a tandem seat trainer which could be used to train pilots to fly the many Mirage based platforms the IAF operated at the time, including the IAI Kfir which was also under development at the time. The Nesher B as it came to be known was also developed with help from Dassault who provided the tandem seat cockpit which was the same cockpit originally used by the Mirage IIIBJ trainers Dassault had previously supplied to the Israeli Air Force. The Nesher B retained the 30mm DEFA cannons of the Nesher A as well as the provisions to carry suspended armaments. Notably the Nesher B completely lacked any radar equipment and featured a slimmer nose than it’s single seat counterpart. The Nesher B finished development in 1974 and was delivered to the Israeli Air Force that same year. In total IAI produced 10 Nesher B aircraft.
Notably this photo features the infamous test pilot Danny Shapira, who had greatly aided both the French Dassault company and the Israeli Air Force over many decades flying dozens of different aircraft, as well as his son Ronen Shapira in the foreground of Nesher B number 666.
Service history
The 10 Nesher B aircraft that were supplied to the Israeli Air Force, unlike some other trainers previously used by the IAF, were never used in combat in service with it and their service was dedicated to training IAF pilots to fly Mirage IIICJ, Nesher A and Kfir aircraft while the trainer version of the Kfir, the Kfir TC.2, was still under development. The Nesher Bs changed hands between squadrons many times based on their necessity. All Nesher B aircraft used the prefix 6 in their serial designation in order to mark them as trainer Neshers. All of the Nesher Bs survived to the end of their service with the Israeli Air Force except for aircraft number 688 which was lost in an accident in 1979.
This line of Neshers which were prepared for sale to Argentina by IAI in 1981 features Nesher B number 634, seen in the center.
One of the more notable uses of the Nesher Bs was in regards to their use in international collaborations. The first example of of this was the sale of 4 refurbished Nesher Bs to the Argentine Air Force where they were renamed to Dagger Bs. The first two aircraft, 622 and 625, were delivered to Argentina in 1979 and received the designations C-425 and C-426 respectively. The other two aircraft, 634 and 637, were delivered in 1981 and received the designations C-438 and C-439 respectively. Other than C-425 which was lost to an an accident in 1980 the other 3 Dagger Bs were in Argentine Air Force inventory during the 1982 Falklands war.
The second international collaboration featuring Nesher Bs was their use to train several pilots of the Ecuadorian Air Force in 1981 due to the sale of IAI Kfir aircraft to Ecuador as it’s first export customer.
Finally, the third collaboration was the sale of the 5 remaining Nesher Bs to the South African Air Force. Not much is know about this sale, it appears as though they were sold in 1985 after they were withdrawn from service with the IAF and were modified into Cheetah D aircraft by IAI prior to the sale.
Nesher B number 666 in flight, note the presence of a centerline drop tank as well as missile rails for Shafrir 2 AAMs.
In this photo is the front seat cockpit of Dagger B C-439, previously Nesher B 637. While the cockpit is slightly refurbished since it’s service in the IAF this is the closest photo I have available to a Nesher B cockpit.
Potential in War Thunder
The Nesher B, being a 2 seater counterpart to the the Nesher A, could potentially be implemented as a premium, event or squadron vehicle to give people a non researchable option to use to enter into the Israeli tech tree at a BR situated between the A-4E (late) and the Kfir Canard.
Rare photo of a Nesher B in flight.
Specifications
Type: Tandem seat conversion jet trainer
Country of origin: Israel
Wing span: 8.22 meters
Length: 15.55 meters
Height: 4.25 meters
Powerplant: SNECMA Atar 9C with 4280 kgf of dry thrust and 6200 kgf of afterburning thrust
Max speed: up to Mach 2.1 at an altitude of 12,000 meters
Max altitude: 17,000 meters
Range: 1,300 km
Weight: Empty - 6,600 kg, Fully loaded - 13,500 kg
Armaments: 2x30 mm DEFA 552A cannons with 125 rounds per gun (250 total), up to two AIM-9D or G Sidewinders or Shafrir 2 missiles, up to 4,200 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 and up to 3,900 liters of fuel in external fuel tanks.
Additional photos
Sources
Spoiler
IAI Nesher(שכפול)
מטוסי חיל האויר מהטייגר מות' עד הסופה
https://www.isradecal.com/product-page/israeli-air-force-iai-nesher-1971-85
חיל האויר בקרב - 70 שנות עליונות אוירית 1948-2018 - Page 482
Redirecting...
Vision and Accomplishments in Israel Aerospace Industries, by Danny Shalom, published by IAI, ISBN 978-965-555-499-1