The Israeli air force is unquestionably the most powerful in the Middle East. Man for man, it is one of the world's finest due to a high degree of pilot training and combat experience, and the use of cutting-edge Western technology. Current strengths are 28,000 men and 645 combat aircraft (mostly front-line USAF types and some older Mirage III's and derivative models) plus another 100 older aircraft in storage, with more F-15's, F-16's, and Kfir's on the way.
