The Sa'ar was a later development of the Sambad (Super Mystere B2). The reason for its development was the weak, fuel-hungry engine of the Super Mystere, the Atar 101G-3 engine. Not only that, but it was also prone to mechanical failures. In 1967, it was proposed to use the engine of the A-4H in the Super Mystere. The Pratt & Whitney J52-P-8A engine was lighter, 25% more powerful, more reliable, and less fuel-hungry, but it had no afterburner. The new aircraft featured more ground ordnance capabilities, Shafrir 2 missiles, and a better range, at the cost of no longer being considered an interceptor due to the loss of its afterburner. By 1973, the upgrade program was completed, and all 26 Super Mysteres in the IAF were upgraded to the Sa'ar model.

Introduced in Update "Winged Lions", the Sa'ar is played in a very unique way in battles. It has the engine of the A-4 Skyhawk and also some of its weakness. It has a decent top speed for a subsonic fighter, but its acceleration and poor energy retention don't make the Sa'ar a frontline fighter. While it can go for bases, it's not recommended since equipping ground ordnance hampers flight performance severely and would become easy prey for supersonic interceptors like the MiG-19 and MiG-21. Instead, as a support fighter, the Sa'ar can have very good results, because at its BR most jets have no countermeasures, and the Shafrir 2 is a relatively powerful missile with similar characteristics to the AIM-9D.