In the late 1970s, Israel began developing a domestically produced fighter jet to replace the outdated IAI Kfir. By studying their previous work on fighter modernization and borrowing ideas from the IAI Netz, Israeli aerospace engineers developed their own fighter: the IAI Lavi ("Lion" in Hebrew). The Lavi made its maiden flight in 1986 and, according to the Israeli military, proved to be a fighter capable of competing with the American F-16. However, the U.S. administration, which had assisted in the Lavi’s development, did not express interest in providing financial support for mass production. Due to ever-rising design costs and U.S. influence, the IAI Lavi project was definitively shut down. In 1988, instead, the U.S. sold Israel 60 F-16C/D Block 40 aircraft, designating them "Barak II" (Hebrew for "lightning"). The "C" is a single-seat model and the "D" is a two-seat model.

In Israel, the aircraft were modernized. During this process, the fighters were equipped with avionics from Elbit Systems. They were also given the capability to mount a LANTIRN pod for striking ground targets and were given an expanded weapons suite. This suite included the ARH Derby missile from Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. The fighters were also given the capability to carry the GBU-31 JDAM bomb. The Barak II participated in nearly every Israeli military campaign. However, the Israeli Air Force's need for a more specialized fighter for long-range and precision strike missions led to the introduction of the F-16I Sufa and the F-35I "Adir".

The F-16C Barak II was introduced in Update 2.39 "Dance of Dragons". Compared to the Netz, the Barak II is more versatile thanks to its new capabilities for conducting air and ground strikes. Its flight characteristics surpass those of the MiG-29SMT due to its superior maneuverability. Its armament includes medium-range air-to-air missiles, such as the Derby and AMRAAM with active radar homing (ARH), as well as AIM-9M air-to-air missiles with a less visible exhaust trail and IRCCM. The Barak II also carries satellite-guided JDAM bombs and overall offers tank crews a wide variety of "gifts", including simple bombs, laser-guided bombs, and SPICE.