By the mid-60s of the last century, the Israeli aviation industry had reached a level of development at which it became possible to serially build its own aircraft. In 1966, IAI (Israeli Aircraft Industries) began designing a light transport and passenger aircraft with a short takeoff and landing. Even at the design stage, it was envisaged that the new multipurpose vehicle would be operated from minimally prepared field airfields.
The aircraft, named Arava (a desert area on the border of Israel and Jordan) and the IAI-101 index, was a high-wing aircraft with a nacelle-type fuselage and two beams, at the front ends of which engines were installed, and at the rear - spaced vertical tail and stabilizer. Such an aerodynamic design, previously used in the much larger and heavier American military transport Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar, made it possible to obtain good takeoff and landing characteristics and make optimal use of internal volumes. The tail section of the all-metal fuselage of semi-monocoque design is deflected to the side by more than 90 ° to facilitate loading and unloading. The height of the cab floor is the same as the body of a standard truck.
There are doors on both sides of the fuselage for boarding the aircraft for the crew and passengers. The straight wing of the two-spar coffered structure is supported by two lower struts. From the means of wing mechanization, there were two-section flaps, occupying 61% of the span, slats, ailerons and retractable spoilers. The wing contains four fuel tanks with a total capacity of 1440 liters. The original power plant consisted of two Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-27 715 hp turboprop engines. Non-retractable tricycle landing gear with powerful oil-air shock absorbers is designed to compensate for shocks during a hard landing of the aircraft and to overcome runway irregularities up to 10 cm high. soggy "or covered with loose sand strips. It was planned that the new light transport and passenger aircraft will replace American-made C-47 piston aircraft in Israel.
Both civilian and military applications of the aircraft were considered. The passenger version could accommodate up to 20 people, the transport version - up to 2300 kg of cargo. In the VIP configuration, the aircraft could accommodate up to 12 passengers. Crew 1-2 people. Modifications were also designed for use in the role of a flying medical operating room, for terrain mapping, oil exploration, inducing rain and as flying laboratories. An aircraft with a maximum takeoff weight of 6800 kg could cover a distance of 1300 km. Maximum speed - 326 km / h, cruising speed - 309 km / h. The runway length required for take-off is 360 meters. The landing distance is 290 meters.
The prototype flew on November 27, 1969, and soon the aircraft entered mass production. In 1972, the aircraft was shown at the aerospace exhibition in Hanover. In the same year, IAI organized a demonstration tour of Latin America, as a result of which the plane flew a total of 64 thousand km. At the same time, special emphasis was placed on unpretentious maintenance, economy and excellent takeoff and landing characteristics. In 1972, the aircraft was offered to customers for $ 450,000. The first buyer of "Arava" was the Mexican Air Force, which ordered 5 copies. The Israeli Air Force was only eyeing the aircraft, but in mid-October 1973, during the Yom Kippur War, three IAI-101 Arava were transferred to 122nd Squadron at Nevatit. The aircraft were used for the operational supply of the Israeli troops, and in general, despite the recently started production and a number of "children's ailments", they worked well. Nevertheless, after the end of hostilities, the first three aircraft were returned to the manufacturer, and the Israeli Air Force officially acquired the first batch of modernized aircraft only in 1983.
The hopes of the IAI company for the commercial success of the civilian version of the IAI-101 did not materialize. The niche of the light twin-engine aircraft of the local airlines was occupied by numerous competitors. In addition, in the mid-70s, there were still many piston machines of the previous generation in operation. In the third world countries, the Douglas C-47 (DC-3) was especially widespread, with a total of about 10,000 built. In the 60s and 70s, there was an overabundance of these machines on the market, as the military got rid of, in their opinion, outdated transport and passenger aircraft. "Douglas" with a still very decent resource could be bought for $ 50-70 thousand. In these conditions, it was very difficult for an Israeli company to break into the civilian market with its light passenger aircraft. As a result, despite the increased advertising, it was possible to sell a small number of civilian modifications of the IAI-101. At the same time, the air forces of the poor countries of Latin America and Africa showed interest in a machine that was universal in many respects.
Taking into account the fact that in countries that could potentially act as buyers of the Israeli "Arava", there were often problems with all sorts of insurgents, weapons were installed on the plane. And this, to a certain extent, really affected the export potential, since now the plane could not only land the paratroopers, but also support them, if necessary, with fire. Tests of an armed prototype carried out in Israel have shown that, thanks to a good view from the cockpit, pilots can easily and quickly detect and identify ground targets. Relatively low flight speed and good maneuverability made it easy to take an advantageous position for an attack. However, during the tests, military representatives noted the great vulnerability of the "Arava" when operating over areas with developed air defense. There were no special measures to increase survivability, such as protected tanks or armor protection of the cockpit, on the plane, and in the event of a meeting even with an enemy subsonic attack aircraft, the chances of safely escaping were minimal.
The aircraft was armed with two 12.7 mm Browning machine guns, fairings in the front of the fuselage (one on each side). Another turret machine gun in the tail cone of the fuselage protected the rear hemisphere from attacks from fighters and shelling from the ground. The total ammunition load was quite impressive - 8000 rounds.
In addition, two NAR containers or another combat load weighing 500 kg could be suspended on two pylons on the fuselage. In addition to installing weapons and sights, devices for dropping dipole reflectors and shooting heat traps were offered as additional options.
The modernized military aircraft in 1977, designated IAI -202, was equipped with Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-34 780 hp aircraft engines. with three-blade propellers with a diameter of 2.59 m. This made it possible to reduce the takeoff roll and increase the aircraft's carrying capacity to 2.5 tons. The takeoff run was 230 m, and the landing run was 130 m. With new, more powerful engines, the maximum speed was 390 km / h, and the cruising speed was 319 km / h. Some of the aircraft were remade from earlier modifications during the overhaul; to install new engines, the wing had to be completely changed. The assigned flight life of the late production aircraft was 40,000 hours.
The civilian modification with engines of increased power and improved equipment received the designation IAI-102. The largest number of such machines was sold to Argentina, where they were used at mountain airfields with limited runways.
In the modified in the interests of the military, the cargo compartment of the IAI-202 aircraft could accommodate 24 servicemen with personal weapons, 16 paratroopers, a light all-terrain vehicle with a recoilless gun and a crew of 4 people, or 2.5 tons of cargo. If necessary, there was a possibility of re-equipment to a sanitary version. At the same time, 12 stretchers are installed in the cargo compartment and workplaces for two doctors are equipped.
In addition to the universal multipurpose aircraft, specialized versions were produced in limited series. The patrol-anti-submarine modification differed from other models by the presence in the bow of a search radar capable of detecting submarine periscopes. Special equipment weighing about 250 kg was installed on the plane. The armament included four Mk14 anti-submarine torpedoes and twelve acoustic buoys.
The ability to stay in the air for up to 10 hours made it possible to use the "Arava" as an air repeater, an electronic reconnaissance aircraft and electronic warfare. In this case, a set of electronic equipment weighing up to 500 kg and two operators are placed on board.
Several machines of this modification were used in the Israeli Air Force, but, unfortunately, we could not find high-quality images of these aircraft, as well as reliable details regarding the composition of the equipment and details of the application.
During the operation, the scope of the "Arava" was very diverse. Aircraft were often used as towing aircraft for air targets and in search and rescue operations. When equipping field airfields, "Arava" could be used for fuel delivery and refueling of other aircraft and helicopters, as well as for refueling ground equipment in the field. For this, fuel tanks with a total capacity of up to 2000 liters and refueling equipment were mounted in the aircraft's cargo compartment.
But despite the efforts of Israeli Aircraft Industries, which tried to attract foreign buyers with combat capabilities, good takeoff and landing characteristics, stability, excellent maneuverability for aircraft of this class, simplicity and ease of operation, the demand for aircraft of the Arava family did not meet expectations. The aircraft, which was in serial production from 1972 to 1988, was built in the amount of 103 copies. At the same time, 2/3 of the vehicles were produced in a military configuration.
In addition to Israel, "Arava" was supplied to 16 countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Venezuela, Haiti, Guatemala, Honduras, Cameroon, Liberia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Papua New Guinea, El Salvador, Swaziland, Thailand, Ecuador. In a significant part of the countries on this list, there were problems with anti-government armed groups, and Israeli-made multipurpose aircraft were used in hostilities.
The example of the Colombian Air Force is illustrative in this case. Three Arava aircraft with a set of weapons were handed over to the Colombian Air Force in April 1980. Soon the planes were deployed together with the AC-47 gunships against the leftist rebels operating in the jungle. However, in the role of an attack aircraft operating at low altitudes, the aircraft was not very successful. Its relatively low speed and large silhouette made it a good target for anti-aircraft fire. After the aircraft began to return from combat missions with bullet holes, and the wounded appeared among the crews, such use of the Arava was abandoned. As a result, specialized anti-guerrilla aircraft A-37, OV-10 and Tucano began to be attracted to attack the positions of leftist armed groups and destroy the dumped objects of drug traffickers.
The planes switched to more typical tasks: delivering food and ammunition to distant garrisons, transporting small detachments of military personnel, evacuating those in need of medical assistance, conducting aerial reconnaissance and patrol flights. Two Colombian light transporters were lost in flight accidents over the course of 10 years. Fortunately for those on board, none of them died. To date, the only "Arava" remains in Colombia, the aircraft has been repaired and is used in the civilian sector.
However, as the practice of use in other countries has shown, "Arava" turned out to be a good "gunship", especially at night. With a large-caliber machine gun on board, or a light 20-mm automatic cannon installed in the doorway, the aircraft, flying in a circle, could continuously fire at the same target, being out of reach of effective small arms fire. In this case, the target for better visual visibility was often "marked" with phosphorus ammunition. This is how the Salvadoran IAI-202s were used.
In addition to El Salvador and Colombia, the Aravam had a chance to "sniff gunpowder" in Bolivia, Nicaragua, Honduras and Liberia. It was reported that one Liberian IAI-202 was shot down by 14.5mm ZPU-4 anti-aircraft fire. Until recently, one Bolivian plane, armed with heavy machine guns and NAR, regularly flew combat missions against drug lords operating in remote areas of the country. As a rule, "Arava" acted as an air command post, directing and coordinating the actions of the AT-33 light jet attack aircraft.
Without a doubt, Arava aircraft have a rich combat history. But the specificity of anti-insurgency actions is such that the details of special operations, as a rule, are not leaked to the media. Despite the fact that most of the machines were operated at field airfields in countries where the level of maintenance left much to be desired, the accident rate was relatively small. In accidents and disasters, about 10% of the entire fleet was lost, and the bulk of flight accidents occurred due to the "human factor". The last major incident with the Arava aircraft occurred on March 15, 2016. A car belonging to the Ecuadorian Air Force crashed into a mountainside in bad weather. The crash killed 19 Ecuadorian paratroopers and 3 crew members.
At present, the flying career of the Arava aircraft in most of the operating countries has already ended. So, the Israeli Air Force abandoned this machine in 2004, and now there are no more than two dozen machines left in flight condition in the world. Despite the very good operational and flight data, in many ways the outstanding aircraft did not deserve proper recognition. The reason for this was the dominance in the market of more eminent than the Israeli IAI, European and American manufacturers of aviation equipment and the very specific position of Israel in the world, which hindered the export of aircraft from this country in the 70-80s. The government of a number of countries refused to trade with Israeli companies for political reasons. In addition, unlike the USSR or the United States, the Jewish state could not afford to supply weapons on credit or donate to its allies, which undoubtedly affected the prevalence of the products of the Israeli military-industrial complex in the world.
