When it comes to delta-wing supersonic fighters, the Mirage is often the first reference among aviation fans, and with good reason. The Mirage III is recognized to this day as one of the most successful and influential fighter aircraft of its generation, spawning multiple variants and successors. Among them, the Mirage 5, which has the particularity of having an Israeli clone called IAI Nesherwhose history has been marked by cases of espionage and covert collaborations.
The origins of the IAI Nesher date back to the 1960s, when Israel and France They became allies to create a new fighter based on the Mirage III, specifically designed to suit the needs of the Israeli Air Force. This is how Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) and Dassault Aviation gave life to the project that led to the Mirage 5. But the situation became complicated after 1967.
The growing tension in the Middle East led the then French president, Charles de Gaulle, to impose an arms embargo on Israel. Measure that came into force just days before the Six Day War broke out. And things got even worse after Operation Gift in 1968, where Israeli special forces infiltrated Beirut International Airport, Lebanon, and destroyed a dozen passenger planes.
From there, the blockade not only affected deliveries of the Mirage 5s that Israel had already paid for, but also the provision of spare parts for the Mirage IIIs serving in its Air Force. At the beginning of 1969, the alliance between IAI and Dassault was definitively truncatedbut it opened the door to the birth of the Nesher.
IAI Nesher, Israel’s response to the French arms embargo
Distinguishing a Mirage 5 and an IAI Nesher with the naked eye was impossible. It is that the aircraft were identical, and not by chance. Which led to the fact that, since its appearance on the scene, several theories were elaborated regarding the development of the Israeli fighter – some with more support than others, of course.
On the one hand, aviation experts say that Israel managed to get hold of the necessary information to manufacture the aircraft locally thanks to the espionage work of the Mossad. But there would also be indications that, in secret, Dassault Aviation itself would have delivered documentation to Israel Aircraft Industries so that it could continue with the work, even with the approval of Marcel Dassaultthe founder of the company.
The French firm is also said to have evaded the arms embargo by using North American Rockwell to triangulate the delivery of moulds, diagrams and fuselage parts to the Israelis. While an even bolder version ensures that the French Air Force itself would have sent 50 completely dismantled Mirage 5S to IAI, to simplify the development of the Nesher.
As is often the case with these types of stories, much of the information available seems to be on the blurred line between myth and reality. What is irrefutable is that IAI did not have an official license from Dassault to produce the Mirage 5, but still managed to create an aircraft identical in design and capabilities to its French counterpart. Something no less, considering that it was capable of flying at Mach 2.2.
Another point that has also raised suspicions has been the rapid evolution of the IAI Nesher manufacturing process. The first prototype flew in September 1969, just months after the project broke up with the French; while production versions began to be delivered to the Israeli Air Force in mid-1971.
The most important challenges
Beyond the fuselage equal to that of the Mirage 5, the Israeli aeronautical firm had two great challenges with the IAI Nesher: instrumentation and motorization. The first was solved by incorporating locally produced electronics, while the second was somewhat more complex.
Dassault’s fighter used an engine tie 09C, from the French firm Snecma. Logically, considering the embargo, it was impossible for Israel to acquire it, and therefore it had to find a way to create a clone with identical capabilities for the IAI Nesher.
Thus, he applied reverse engineering to the units that he already had available and that equipped the Mirage III of his Air Force. But it was not the only method, since he also had some “outside help”. Specifically, that of a Swiss engineer named Alfred Frauenknechtwho sold him the secrets of Snecma Atar in exchange for $200,000.
The aforementioned worked at the Sulzer company, which was in charge of manufacturing under license the engines for the Mirage III of the Swiss Air Force. However, he was discovered and sentenced to 4 and a half years in prison in 1971, in a case that still resonates strongly in Swiss lands.
The evolution: from IAI Nesher to IAI Kfir
The striking thing about the IAI Nesher is that it had a very brief life in the service of the Israeli Air Force. In total, 61 units were manufactured: 51 single-seaters and 10 two-seaters. However, already in 1974 its production was put aside to favor the development of a new version based on the Mirage 5 baptized as IAI Kfir.
The latter entered service in 1975 and stood out for its more advanced instrumentation and for using a new engine. Israel obtained an official license from the United States to produce the General Electric J79, which achieved superior performance to cloned Atars.
In terms of design, meanwhile, the IAI Kfir was very similar to the Nesher, but with a very marked difference: the implementation of canards (horizontal stabilizers) on its sides. In addition, an additional air intake was implemented at the base of the vertical stabilizer to favor engine cooling.
A striking fact about the Kfir is that, although it stopped being used in Israel in the 1990s, the development of modernized variants for export has continued.
In Argentina, Dagger and Finger
When Israel opted to withdraw the IAI Nesher to favor the development of the Kfir, existing models of the Mirage 5 clone were not converted to the new variant. On the contrary, it was decided to sell them to Argentinawhich incorporated them into its Air Force between 1978 and 1980, in full military dictatorship.
By then, the Argentine Air Force already had experience in the use of this type of aircraft. It is that the Mirage III had arrived in the country at the beginning of the 1970s, operating from the province of Buenos Aires in the now dissolved VIII Air Brigade.
The IAI Nesher were assigned to the VI Air Brigade of Tandil, province of Buenos Aires, and renamed Dagger. Since their arrival in the country, they became a key piece in the defense of airspace, and played an important role during the Falklands War in 1982.
It is worth mentioning that shortly after their arrival in the Argentine Air Force, the Daggers began a process of modernization to a standard called Finger. However, the latter had to be adapted to avoid the use of British components, due to the embargo imposed by the United Kingdom after the South Atlantic conflict.
After the war, the surviving units of the Mirage family of fighters—including IAI Neshers converted to the Dagger and Finger, plus 10 Mirage 5Ps purchased from Peru—remained stationed in Tandil. From there they operated until their final retirement, which occurred in november 2015.
Since the decommissioning of the Mirage weapon system, the Argentine Air Force has stayed no aircraft with supersonic capabilities. Currently, two proposals are being analyzed to recover them: the Chinese JF-17 Thunder, and a batch of F-16 Fighting Falcon belonging to Denmark.