Israel is accelerate its search for a new maritime patrol aircraft, having decided against further life extensions of its current Israel Aerospace Industries 1124 Westwinds.
“We will not invest in another upgrade of that old platform and will accelerate the search for an alternative,” says a senior Israeli air force officer.
A previous modernisation effort launched in 2012 added new systems and sensors to the modified 1970s-era business jets, as well performing life-extension work on the fuselage and wings.
In recent years, the service has been operating IAI Heron unmanned air systems in parallel with the 1124, with its intention believed to be to phase out the Westwind once the UAS was fully capable.
However, the IAF source says the navy, which is the chief beneficiary of 1124 operations, relies on its ability to cover large distances relatively quickly and rapidly focus on targets once detected.
Both services now need to decide on the best way forward for a replacement platform. Tel Aviv has an active inventory of three Westwinds, Flightglobal’s Ascend Fleets database records.
Source: Flight Global