During World War II, to permit German plants to be used for the production of fighters and bombers, the German RLM decided to transfer production of lesser important aircraft to other countries, the types involved including the Fieseler Storch.

The Arava was designed by Israel Aircraft Industries as a STOL light transport for civil and military use and it was produced in two variants, the IAI-101 and the IAI-201, examples being supplied to a number of air forces.