A private aviation company is reported to be purchasing F-16 fighter jets from Israel

Top Aces, internationally operating a fleet of privately owned tactical aircraft, is due to purchase F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jets from Israel.

Several news outlets reported that the purchase of 29 jets used by the Israeli Air Force had been approved by the US State Department and the Israeli government.

Top Aces officials confirmed that the company is planning to purchase a batch of 4th generation hunting platforms and have already received permits to purchase and import up to 29 F-16s from an unknown country.

“The F-16 is truly our future growth platform, especially for training adversaries,” said Paul Bouchard, President and Chief Executive Officer. “It’s the most productive enemy aircraft in the western world. It’s the enemy aircraft of choice just because of its performance characteristics. Because this is a fourth generation aircraft, it can be equipped and configured in so many different ways from an aircraft architecture standpoint. . . . And it’s scalable too, as more than 4,000 F-16s have been built. It’s still a production aircraft. There is a lot of support in terms of sustainability. “

According to Skies magazine, if the contract with Israel is confirmed, the F-16 jets would be added to Top Aces’ current fleets of Dornier Alpha Jets and Douglas A-4 Skyhawks and initially stationed at the nearby F-16 Center of Excellence, the U.S. Company headquarters in Mesa, Arizona.

The private aviation company assists in the training of air force crews and provides fleet support air training services.

It is also important to note that Israel had already tried to sell 12 F-16 Barak fighter planes to Croatia, but the deal was rejected by the Americans.

The deal ran into trouble after Washington said Israel would need to remove upgrades that were added after Israel took over the plane from the US about 30 years ago.

The sophisticated electronics and radar systems were crucial in Croatia’s decision to buy the F-16 from Israel instead of the US or Greece, which were also bidding for the contract.