Israel's F-35I Fighter's C4 Systems Enter Production at IAI

IAI has commenced preparations for mass production of advanced C4 systems of the future aircraft of the Israeli Air Force F-35I. The system was developed exclusively to the new fighter jet, is part of the tactical C4 systems

With system definition, prototyping and testing phases completed, Israel Aerospace Industries’ (IAI) is now moving to production the Command, Control, Communications and Computing (C4) systems developed for the 'Adir' - F-35I, Israel’s variant of the Fifth Generation Fighter F-35.

The system developed exclusively for the F-35I by IAI’s LAHAV Division is part of IAI’s ‘tactical C4 architecture‘, introducing force multipliers in the modern, networked battle space. The induction of this type of systems with the Israel Air Force (IAF) combat fleet will enable the IAF to better manage, and rapidly field networked applications that interface with core services over proprietary protocols developed especially for the IAF.

Using generic communications infrastructure based on the latest Software Defined Radios (SDR), IAI's new C4 system developed for the 'Adir' will provide the backbone of the IAF future airborne communications network. This network will dramatically improve over legacy systems currently operating with the current fleet of 4th Generation aircraft (F-16, F-15).

Based on open systems architecture, the new system enable rapid software and hardware development cycles that will also provide more affordable modernization and support of systems over the platform’s life cycle, as systems are required to meet rapidly changing operating environment.

Fully embedded into the aircraft integrated avionic system, IAI’s new C4 system provides the user advanced processing capabilities with relative independence of the aircraft manufacturer. Part of the F-35I avionic system, the C4 system introduces a new level of freedom for the IAF, as it paves the way for additional advanced capabilities to be embedded in the F-35I in the future.

“This cutting edge avionic system represents an ‘operational quantum leap’ in the capability of air power to conduct networked-centric air warfare” said Benni Cohen, General Manager of LAHAV division, “It is part of a major change that takes place once in a decade, which includes the upgrading of 4th Generation systems. This program will be critical to our national security as it represents a shift in air forces’ concepts of operations (CONOPS) and operational capabilities.”