Background Report Mideast Air Power Balance Changing

Gen. David Ivri, commander of the Air Force, said today that Israel cannot ignore the changing balance of air power in the Middle East. He noted, in an interview with military correspondents on the occasion of Air Force Day, that the balance is changing not only because of increased weapons purchases by the Arab states but because of qualitative improvements resulting from the acquisition of better and more sophisticated equipment from the West.

In view of these developments, Ivri said, the Israel Air Force must continue to forge ahead by purchasing new systems and improving the entire air defense structure, from intelligence-gathering and communica- tions systems to improved advance-warning systems, anti-aircraft capabilities and better aircraft. He said negotiations for the purchase of American F-15 and F-16 fighter bombers are going ahead according to plan and are not held up by political considerations.

Ivri disclosed that the Israeli and American negotiators are now discussing cost factors and delivery timetables. He also indicated that there is great promise in Israel’s second generation jet interceptor, the Aryeh, which will eventually replace the Kfir, the first warplane designed and produced in Israel.

According to Ivri, blueprints for the new plane to be manufactured by Israel Aircraft Industries, indicate that its overall performance will equal that of the F-15 and F-16. But he expressed annoyance that the Aryeh seems bagged down in bureaucratic red tape, with as many as 17 separate committees dealing with production problems without arriving at solutions. He said if the aircraft was already in production, not on the drawing boards, the Air Force would have purchased it without hesitation. But it appears now that it will take some years before the first Aryehs come off the production line, he said.

ARABS’ AIR STRENGTH

Evaluating the accretion of air strength by the Arab countries, Ivri said he was particularly concerned with developments in Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Iraq which represent a threat from the east. He claimed that the Syrians have more than doubled their military air capability since the 1973 war. They have invested huge sums in air defense systems from both East and West and have received MIG-23s and Tupolev-20s from the Soviet Union and attack helicopters from Western sources.

Jordan has become an air power worth worrying about, Ivri warned. It has absorbed American F-5E fighters and 14 batteries of improved American Hawk anti-aircraft missiles. The build-up of Saudi air power is also based on American equipment and the Saudis are constructing airfields not only at Tabuk, within easy range of Eilat, but all along their borders and the obvious target is Israel, Ivri said. The Iraqis spend huge sums on their air force and air defense.

Egypt, he added, will soon receive F-5Es from the U.S., and while they face some difficulties shifting from Soviet to American technology, they are still capable of fielding their Russian-built aircraft.