Kobi Richter, the former Israeli Air Force Weapons Department head, wrote this op-ed on why he had supported the decision to cancel the indigenous Lavi fighter.
By MathKnight (Own work) [GFDL, CC-BY-SA-3.0 or CC BY-SA 2.5-2.0-1.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Richter explained that the development team was having financial woes in completing the program, in order to meet the target of delivering the aircraft to the air force, sacrifices have to be made on the jet’s performance. This will lead to a platform that is similar to the F-16.
Israel will also have to build up the support system for 200 Lavis and this will put further strain on the budget. The F-16 was already inducted into service with the necessary ground support in place.