Chief of Staff Gen. Moshe Levy indicated to military correspondents yesterday that he was unhappy over the large portion of the already curtailed defense budget allocated to Israel’s second generation jet fighter plane, the Lavie, and that he would like to see the project cut out or deferred unless more funds are made available.
Levy, along with Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin, had been a leading proponent of the Lavie which other senior military officers and political figures believe should be abandoned for economic reasons. Now he apparently feels there are more urgent defense programs that could use the money.
A senior aide told reporters last week that the Chief of Staff favored delaying the new supersonic jet fighter which is expected to be ready for test flights later this year. Levy has plans to restructure the defense budget but he declined to reveal them to the public before he presents them to the political leadership. Speaking of the reduced budget, he said, “It is inconceivable that our order of priorities will not change when there is a change in the resources” available.
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