Israel Flew a ‘Custom’ F-4 Phantom Even the U.S. Military Never Had

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Key Points: The F-4 Phantom II played a crucial role in Israel’s defense, especially during the Yom Kippur War of 1973. Entering Israeli service in 1969, the versatile fighter performed aerial combat and ground-strike missions with remarkable effectiveness, achieving over 80 enemy aircraft kills while sustaining only 30 losses during the war.

-Upgraded to the F-4E model and later enhanced with the “Super Phantom” program, the aircraft received advanced avionics, radar, and more powerful engines.

-Even after its combat heyday, the F-4 served as a reconnaissance platform, proving instrumental to Israel’s military strategy until its retirement in the early 2000s.

The Valuable F-4 Phantom Saved Israel from Destruction

Israel has many enemies. It seems like every country in the Middle East has, at one point, wanted to wipe the Jewish State off the map and scatter its citizens to other lands. 

This need for defense against existential threats put much pressure on the Israeli military.

So, the country depended greatly on its air force during the Arab wars and beyond. One particularly effective fighter was the F-4 Phantom II.

The F-4 formed the backbone of the Israeli Air Force for decades, and the pilots loved its speed, agility, dogfighting skills, and survivability. 

The Phantom performed aerial combat and ground strike roles from the beginning of 1969 until the 1990s. The Israelis couldn’t get enough of the effective fighters. 

The F-4 was later replaced with F-15Is and F-16s and finally gave way to the F-35I. 

But not before it went down in history as one of the best airplanes in the Israeli fleet.

Let’s take a look at what made the F-4 so special. 

Modernizing the F-4

The Israelis needed to upgrade to the F-4E model to keep up with the times. The base F-4 required better avionics and electrical systems plus a modern radar. 

The F-4E was equipped with advanced “synthetic aperture radar mapping and ground target tracking,” according to Military Watch Magazine. 

The pilot received a better field of view, making the cockpit more user-friendly. An upgraded communications configuration also helped the Israeli aviators.

 For weapons systems, the F-4E had a new computer to control munitions.

The Phantom Was Transformed into a ‘Super’ Fighter 

The Israelis later turned to the “Super Phantom” program that replaced “the Phantom’s J79 turbofan with a PW1120 turbofan – a low maintenance fourth generation engine which would provide significantly greater thrust than the original and provide the Phantom with very high maneuverability,” Military Watch wrote.

The Phantom Was a Combat Stalwart 

Israel received its first Phantoms in 1969 after the 1967 Six-Day War. The F-4 base model Phantom soon set speed and altitude records. 

The Phantoms were great for aerial combat and for blowing up targets on the ground. Pilots loved the thrust and acceleration, which were needed to outfly Egyptian surface-to-air missiles that Cairo acquired from the Soviet Union. 

Egypt also had Soviet-made MiG-21 fighters, but these were no match for the Israeli Phantoms. In the Yom Kippur War of 1973, the Israeli Air Force flew over 3,000 sorties with F-4s.

 These hot rod jets deployed in seven squadrons and destroyed over 80 enemy airplanes with only 30 losses.

At the beginning of the war, Israel was completely surprised, and it scrambled just two F-4s—at first, not knowing the size of the enemy attack. 

The Phantoms quickly got to work against the Egyptian marauding fleet. The pair of Phantoms shot down eight Egyptian MiG-21s and delayed the main axis of the enemy aerial attack.

Multi-role Fighter Bomber

In 1982, Israeli F-4s destroyed surface-to-air missile sites in the Bekaa Valley of Syria, so the F-4s had an excellent reputation as fighter-bombers.

 It’s estimated that the F-4E took out at least 116 enemy aircraft over the years. There was even a reconnaissance version of the Israeli air force called the RF-4E that was instrumental in providing valuable intelligence to the country’s military.

Nothing But Greatness for F-4 Phantom

The F-4 served Israel well over the years, and the venerable fighters were not completely retired until the early 2000s. There was no way Israel could have survived the Yom Kippur War in 1973 without the F-4 Phantom. 

The platform was highly upgradeable, and the Israelis showed it had the knowledge and expertise to modernize the warbirds for use over several decades. Many Israeli pilots and the general public assuredly had favorable memories of the F-4s that played such a pivotal role in the country’s defense.

 The pilots of the Israeli Air Force were heroes, and the F-4 was a testament to their skill and bravery during times when the Jewish State could have been destroyed. 

The F-4 will become one of the most combat-capable and dominant airplanes in Israeli history.

About the Author: Dr. Brent M. Eastwood 

Brent M. Eastwood, PhD, is the author of Don’t Turn Your Back On the World: a Conservative Foreign Policy and Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare, plus two other books. Brent was the founder and CEO of a tech firm that predicted world events using artificial intelligence. He served as a legislative fellow for U.S. Senator Tim Scott and advised the senator on defense and foreign policy issues. He has taught at American University, George Washington University, and George Mason University. Brent is a former U.S. Army Infantry officer. He can be followed on X @BMEastwood.