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I know Israel has highly modified F-16s, but just what are the structures on the sides and top, aft of the canopy? See this image of an Israeli F-16 compared to a normal one:

Israeli

Vs

Normal

Pugz
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    Even though this has already been marked duplicate, please properly attribute your images to their owners. – CGCampbell Dec 20 '15 at 13:56

2 Answers2

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They're conformal fuel tanks, a type of external fuel tank designed for a specific aircraft type to reduce drag and other effects.

In general, they increase fuel load and free up stations for weapons or even more fuel.

In particular, the F-16 is a small platform with a modest fuel load and thus has a moderate radius even when clean. But when it's combat loaded with sensors and weapons, the additional weight and drag quickly eat into its combat radius, so one or two drop tanks are semi-permanently hung from its wings and/or belly. Don't quote me, but the CFT's almost double the F-16's internal fuel capacity.

The F-16 wasn't originally conceived for ground attack, carrying bombs for many of its missions, but it quickly grew into the versatile multirole platform it is today.

The USAF can better accommodate the F-16's short range because it flies a huge fleet of ~450 aerial tankers to service 2000 fighters, whereas the IAF operates just 11 tankers for 400 fighters. (Obviously other USAF a/c also require tankers, not just fighters.) Also, the IAF doesn't have the luxury of other nearby friendly air bases it can fly out of. Thus, they use CFT's.

With the benefit of hindsight, the original F-16 design team would probably have enlarged the internal fuel tanks from the start had they known how the F-16 would be used.

Hephaestus Aetnaean
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Those are conformal fuel tanks

Airsick
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    While this link may answer the question, it is better to include the essential parts of the answer here and provide the link for reference. Link-only answers can become invalid if the linked page changes. - From Review – Federico Dec 20 '15 at 09:27
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    @federico Actually, the essential part of the answer is included here. Strip out the link and the answer remains, but hey, what do I know? – Airsick Dec 20 '15 at 11:38
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    To me 5 words do not make a complete answer. See for example the accepted answer to the original question (of which this is a duplicate) – Federico Dec 20 '15 at 16:02
  • It answered the question I asked ;-) – Pugz Dec 20 '15 at 16:06