*The Israeli Battle-Tested-Laboratory received – with much gratitude! – the initial F-15 (Boeing) and F-16 (Lockheed-Martin) in 1976 and 1980 respectively.  Since that time, for 45-50 years, the Israeli Battle-Tested Laboratory and Showroom of the US defense and aerospace industries and Armed Forces has significantly improved these fighter jets – and the US air force’s battle tactics – through the uniquely intense operational use of the aircraft (due to the uniquely violent Middle East). 

*The Israeli improvements (mostly shared with the US manufacturers and Armed Forces) have yielded ground-breaking mega billions of dollars worth of research and development (saving 10-20 years), enhancing US competitiveness in the global market, increasing US exports and expanding the US employment base. The Israeli improvements have enhanced the capabilities of the F-15 and F-16, as well as several hundred of other US military systems, which have been supplied to the Israeli Battle-Tested-Laboratory.

*For example, the F-15I Ra’am, a variant of the F-15E adopted to Israeli specifications, functions as a compact but long-range strategic bomber with enhanced ground-attack roles. Also, Israel’s F-16s have undergone hundreds of Israeli-designed upgrades including improvements to the cockpit (75% Israel-upgraded), fire control (50% Israel-upgraded), wings and fuel tanks, effectively modernizing and extending their operational lives.