Uploaded January 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago

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F-16 first took off 50 years ago, in honor of that historical event, we present this story!
Less than a year after its introduction to Israeli service, F-16 achieved its first aerial victory. It was a Syrian helicopter shot down in April 1981. The first victory over an enemy jet had to wait for a couple of months. Amir Nachumi, a Phantom ace from the 1973 War was leading a flight of four F-16s covering A-4 Skyhawks attacking Palestine positions in Lebanon. Israeli radars detected low flying aircraft approaching their positions.

Main sources:
- Donald J. McCarthy - The Sword of David: The Israeli Air Force at War
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- Raanan Weis - General Dynamics: F-16 A/B Netz
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- Tom Cooper - Lebanese Civil War: Volume 2 - Quiet Before the Storm, 1978-1981
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#militaryaviation #militaryaviationhistory #israeliairforce #f16