The Colombian Air Force received its first Kfirs in 1989 and, as Sérgio Santana explains, the type remains a potent fighter thanks to upgrades.
Political instability has been an ever-present backdrop during the Kfir’s service in Colombia. When the government has been forced to quell insurrection in many parts of this South American country, the multi-role combat aircraft has been used to rain fire on the various rebel groups fighting for control.
More recently, the jet’s horizons have widened as the Força Aérea Colombiana (FAC, Colombian Air Force) has participated in international ‘war games’, including Red Flag exercises in the US.
A planned purchase of the type in the early 1980s was blocked by geopolitical wrangling and the result of the US Presidential election. Incumbent Jimmy Carter lost the November 1980 vote to Ronald Reagan, who vetoed the transaction soon after his inauguration because the jet used the General Electric J79 engine, and other equipment, under a US licence.
In the final days of his re-election campaign, Carter had given the green light to Israel for the sale of Kfirs to Colombia and Venezuela. However, not long after Reagan’s later decision, the aircraft – based on a modified D…
