Kfir Canard
| This page is about the premium Israeli jet fighter Kfir Canard. For other versions, see Mirage 5 (Family). |
Contents
Description
The Kfir Canard is a premium gift rank VII Israeli jet fighter with a battle rating of 11.0 (AB/SB) and 11.3 (RB). It was introduced in Update "Apex Predators".
General info
Flight performance
Describe how the aircraft behaves in the air. Speed, manoeuvrability, acceleration and allowable loads - these are the most important characteristics of the vehicle.
| Characteristics | Max speed (km/h at _,___ m) |
Max altitude (metres) |
Turn time (seconds) |
Rate of climb (metres/second) |
Take-off run (metres) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AB | RB | AB | RB | AB | RB | |||
| Stock | ___ | ___ | 16000 | __._ | __._ | __._ | __._ | ___ |
| Upgraded | ___ | ___ | __._ | __._ | __._ | __._ | ||
Details
| Features | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Combat flaps | Take-off flaps | Landing flaps | Air brakes | Arrestor gear | Drogue chute |
| X | X | X | ✓ | X | ✓ |
| Limits | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wings (km/h) | Gear (km/h) | Flaps (km/h) | Max Static G | |||
| Combat | Take-off | Landing | + | - | ||
| 0 | 426 | N/A | N/A | N/A | ~__ | ~__ |
| Optimal velocities (km/h) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ailerons | Rudder | Elevators | Radiator |
| < ___ | < ___ | < ___ | N/A |
Engine performance
| Engine | Aircraft mass | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engine name | Number | Basic mass | Wing loading (full fuel) | |||
| _____ | _ | _,___ kg | ___ kg/m2 | |||
| Engine characteristics | Mass with fuel (no weapons load) | Max Gross Weight | ||||
| Weight (each) | Type | _m fuel | __m fuel | __m fuel | ||
| ___ kg | ___ | _,___ kg | _,___ kg | _,___ kg | _,___ kg | |
| Maximum engine thrust @ 0 m (RB/SB) | Thrust to weight ratio @ 0 m (___%/WEP) | |||||
| Condition | 100% | ___%/WEP | _m fuel | __m fuel | __m fuel | MGW |
| Stationary | ___ kgf | ___ kgf | _.__ | _.__ | _.__ | _.__ |
| Optimal | ___ kgf (_ km/h) |
___ kgf (_ km/h) |
_.__ | _.__ | _.__ | _.__ |
Survivability and armour
The Kfir Canard relies upon not being hit to be effective, largely achieved through its phenomenal acceleration, sharp but brief manoeuvring capability, and level flight speed. The Kfir Canard features no armour protection for the pilot or otherwise. While the aircraft is quite small, the fuel tanks are positioned above the engine and in the wings with the control surfaces meaning that any hits to your airframe will likely result in either a fuel fire (which cannot be manually extinguished as the Kfir Canard lacks extinguishers) or the destruction of a control surface tractor. The Kfir Canard does not respond to even slight damage well and it is advised to return to the airfield if damage is taken, even if still airworthy. This is primarily because the Kfir Canard's main strengths - acceleration, speed, and temporarily exceptional manoeuvrability - are substantially mitigated when damage is taken in general, but even more so if endured by the wings or tail.
Modifications and economy
2 × 120 / 320 / 600 % 2 × 238 / 238 / 238 % | Flight performance | Survivability | Weaponry | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Armaments
Offensive armament
The Kfir Canard is armed with:
- A choice between two presets:
- 2 x 30 mm DEFA 552A cannons, belly-mounted (140 rpg = 280 total)
- 2 x 30 mm DEFA 552A cannons + 36 x countermeasures
Suspended armament
In terms of suspended weaponry, the Kfir Canard can carry AIM-9D or AIM-9G air-to-air missiles, FFAR Mighty Mouse or Zuni Mk.32 unguided rockets, 20 mm GAU-4 gunpods and a variety of 500, 750, 1,000, and 2,000 lb bomb options.
Usage in battles
The Kfir Canard, like all other Kfirs in the Israeli tech tree, possesses a uniquely powerful motor relative to its size and weight, decent guns (when the Air targets belt is selected), mediocre if not situationally-acceptable missiles, and an ability to make sharp angular manoeuvres in a split second.
The Kfir Canard should be ideally played as a support fighter, using your powerful engine, light airframe, and superb though brief high angle-of-attack manoeuvring characteristics to benefit. Only housing a proximity radar to gauge distance to target (max range of 5 km), the Kfir Canard suffers immensely when pitted at long ranges against aircraft with radar missile capability. It is advised not to engage or present yourself as an easily-acquirable target when jets like the F-4s, F-14s, F-16s, and various MiG-23s and MiG-29s in particular have advanced radar missiles which will make quick work of the Kfir Canard. This is especially true when caught at altitude, given the Kfir Canards's reliance on IAS (indicated air speed, essentially the relative flow of air over the jet's wings useful for manoeuvring) for making sharp adjustments to dodge/engage targets. The Kfir Canard is a nimble jet (though very fragile on account of the wing configuration, as any damage to the wings will be very noticeable) and flies very similarly to a MiG-21, though in a slightly more extreme form.
The engine, essentially a singular copy-paste of the F-4 Phantom's in the US tree, offers strong flight characteristics in a straight line with exceptionally strong post-manoeuvre acceleration. However, the Kfir Canard's inability to hold energy when making even slight corrections necessitates a very calculated and metered approach to combat engagements. Unlike a Phantom or a heavier, more traditionally-configured aircraft, the Kfir Canard bleeds energy rapidly due to the delta wing configuration and doing so will leave you effectively defenseless against missiles commonly encountered at the BR range. Given the low number of flares (which depending on your flare selection, can either be launched in sets of 2 or 4, though selecting "Flares Reinforced" will drain your flare count very quickly in 9 uses), they should be used sparingly; only called upon when turning off the afterburner temporarily, pulling hard in 1-2 flight axis, and dropping flares in bursts. The J79 engine chews through fuel remarkable quickly, so it is advised that pilots take the full tank (26 mins), as even a full tank will last a very short time if afterburner is kept active throughout the flight. The Kfir Canard is extremely fast for its size, able to reach Mach 2 at high altitude in a brief time and able to accelerate to around Mach 1.15 - Mach 1.25 (at maximum, though not safely) on the deck, atmospheric conditions permitting.
The armament is slightly lacking however. While the 2 x 30 mm DEFA 552As have a decent amount of ammunition, acceptable ballistics, and consistent enough damage, the missiles leave a lot to be desired. With a maximum loadout of just 2 AIM-9Gs and no radar missiles (the plane lacks true radar to begin with), the Kfir Canard will not win many awards for missile performance, only really effective when dealing with unsuspecting enemies. With only 18Gs of overload and no real-front aspect capability, missile manoeuvrability remains mediocre compared to common counterparts. The AIM-9Gs can generally see through 1-2 sets of flares but can still easily be defeated with a few careful manoeuvres and flares. However, there are 2 semi-redeeming qualities the missiles have - long burn and tracking time (60 seconds) and a large missile locking circle. Additionally, players can choose to mount 2 x 20 mm M61 (GAU-4) gunpods, one under each wing, to augment the Kfir Canard's frontal fire saturation. This is a fairly viable tactic given the Kfir Canard's small (frontal) profile, and is effective against unsuspecting opponents who underestimate the head-on capability of a Kfir augmented in this way. There are various bombloads to be chosen from, though the most effective at taking out bases is the 6 x 1000 lb bomb loadout. Using this configuration, there are a total of 4 drops with the first and third presses of the bomb release. Only one pass on a base is needed with the 6 x 1000 lb bomb option to destroy it, although they must be dropped at Mach 1 or below, making you temporarily vulnerable. Various rocket, 2000lb bomb, 750lb bomb, 500lb bomb, and missile options exist, though they are limited in effectiveness in an Air RB setting.
Given the Kfir Canard's ability to carry bombs, it can be used with some success as a fighter bomber. Taking the 6 x 1000lb loadout with 2 x AIM-9Gs and bombing a base, then proceeding to engage preoccupied targets with your missiles and manoeuvring when needed is a viable strategy.
However, the Kfir Canard can also be used as a support fighter, engaging unsuspecting targets from above and behind when fighting jets that lack look-up radar capability. It is recommended to simply select the 2 x AIM-Gs for this purpose. After accelerating to Mach 1 off the runway, climbing at a 30-40 degree angle until ~8,000+ m and getting to speed will usually place you above the enemy team where you can then utilize the high altitude in combination with the thinner air and long missile burn time to destroy preoccupied enemies below. After netting a kill or two, moving in to engage singular targets is preferable to take advantage of the Kfir Canard's ridiculous ability to pull brief, high-G turns in getting the DEFAs on target.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Fantastic acceleration and top straight-line speed
- Ability to pull insanely high angle-of-attack manoeuvres for brief periods
- Decent and reliable cannons with good ammo count and options
- Good/great climb rate
- Versatile payload options
- Long missile burn time
- Very strong when paired with a coordinated team
Cons:
- No outstanding missiles
- Extremely fragile
- Bleeds speed and energy rapidly upon sustaining turning manoeuvres
- Limited flares/chaff (36)
- No access to tracking/search radar
History
Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the aircraft in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === In-game description ===, also if applicable).
Media
Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.
See also
Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:
- reference to the series of the aircraft;
- links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.
External links
Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:
- topic on the official game forum;
- other literature.
| Israel jet aircraft | |
|---|---|
| Kfir Canard · Kfir C.2 · Kfir C.7 · Nesher | |
| Britain | |
| Meteor | Meteor NF.13 · Meteor F.8 |
| France | |
| Vautour | Vautour IIA · Vautour IIN |
| Super Mystere | Sambad · Sa'ar |
| Mirage III | Shahak |
| Other | M.D.450B Ouragan · Mystere IVA |
| USA | |
| F-84 | F-84F |
| A-4 | A-4H · A-4E Early (M) · A-4E · Ayit |
| F-4 | Kurnass · Kurnass 2000 |
| F-15 | Baz · Baz Meshupar |
| F-16 | Netz · F-16C Barak II · F-16D Barak II |
| Israel premium aircraft | |
|---|---|
