Loving the La'atot: the La'atot: MD500 Defender in Israeli Air Force Service

摘要

To those who flew the Defender into battle it was "the Mercury of the battle field". Small, nimble, silent and lethal, the MD500 Defender made the concept of stealth operational when the faceted shape of the F-117 was only a wooden mock-up. What made the Defender stealthy were its small size, hidden engine, indirect exhaust gas extraction system with cooled exhaust shrouds, a virtually silent 5-blade main rotor and a low reflectance coat of paint. In Israel Air Force service, the Defender earned its Hebrew name for Acrobat - the La'atot.