New French Guided Missile Poses Potential Threat to Israel’s Air Superiority

A serious potential threat to Israel’s air superiority over Egypt is posed by a new French guided missile that costs about $1800 to make and is operated by one man who can be trained in half an hour, according to an NBC television news broadcast last night. The broadcast showed clips from a French industrial film demonstrating the “Harpon” missile knocking out moving tanks, ships and low-flying aircraft. The missile is guided by infra-red emanations and follows the target regardless of evasive action. The broadcast said that while the French embargo precludes the sale of “Harpons” to Egypt or Israel, they may be sold to Libya which could transfer them easily to Egypt.