Experts say the ultra-sophisticated development of the battle-tested F-161 Fighting Falcon, to be named Sufa (Storm in Hebrew), sports a much-increased range of 1,500 kilometres without needing in-flight refuelling, allowing them to reach anywhere in the Middle East.

Media reports said this new capability could allow the Israeli Air Force (IAF) to hit suspected nuclear targets in Iran, as it did in Iraq in June 1981 when it bombed the Osirak reactor near Baghdad.

Built by US aerospace giant Lockheed Martin, the two planes left the contractor?s plant in Fort Worth, Texas last week and set down at the Ramon air base in the southern Negev desert after a stop-over in Portugal?s mid-Atlantic Azores islands.

The procurement of 102 of the two-seater jets at an estimated cost of 4.5 billion dollars is the biggest defence deal in Israel?s history. Funding for the contract comes from US military aid to Israel which totals around two billion dollars per year. With the 102 new Sufa jets, and another 230 Fighting Falcons, Israel will command the second largest F-16 fleet in the world behind the United States.

Although the IAF refuses to give details of the new jet?s range, it describes it as ?very significant?. Powered by a Pratt and Whitney F100-PW-229 engine, many of its multiple systems are produced by the Israeli aerospace industry. Two internal regular fuel tanks are supplemented by two jettisonable wing-mounted tanks which significantly increase the radius of action, experts say.

With a special head-mounted visor showing all the flight data, the pilot can aim a missile by fixing his gaze at the target. It is equipped with the new Python 5 infrared-guided air-to-air missile produced by the Israeli defence firm Rafael, which is claimed to be unstoppable if the target is within the pilot?s vision.