Israel continued the endless task of keeping its defense arsenal up to state-of-the art standards.
Two advanced American-made jet fighter aircraft were landed at an air base here by their American pilots Monday for delivery to the Israeli air force. The F-15Ds, known as “Peace Foxes,” were the first of five jets ordered by Israel from the McDonnell Douglas Corp, at $1 million apiece.
Last Friday, an Israeli-designed seaborne missile 10 years in the making successfully passed its acceptance trials by the navy.
Known as the Barak, the 7-foot-long, 189-1b-weapon will be mounted on Israel’s new Saar-5 class missile boats and possibly on the upgraded Saar-4s. It has already been sold to two foreign navies, not identified.
Israeli military brass on hand to receive the new American jets Monday were joined by John Capellupo, president of McDonnell Douglas’ Combat Aircraft Division.
Capellupo arrived Sunday to lobby Israeli political and military leaders on behalf of his company’s new F/A-18 Hornet warplanes, which are being considered as the future backbone of Israel’s air defense.
But the Hornet is up against stiff competition from the advanced version of the F-16, produced by the rival General Dynamics Corp.
Israeli air force sources say the F-16 has the advantage at the moment because Israel has had experience with its earlier models.
But they admit the F/A-18 Hornet is superior in certain categories of avionics, which makes it a strong contender.
Israel Aircraft Industries last month tentatively agreed to assemble F-16 fighter jets, a deal worth $1 billion, according to sources in the defense establishment.
The acceptance ceremonies for the F-15Ds marked the 25th anniversary of the Israeli air force’s relationship with McDonnell Douglas, which began with delivery of the first Skyhawk A-4s in 1967.
It was disclosed, meanwhile, that the Barak missile, intended for defense against sea or air attack, has an effective range of up to 6 miles.
It was developed by the state-owned Rafael Weapons Development Authority and built by Israel Aircraft Industries, another state enterprise.
The Barak, which succeeded in destroying a dummy missile in midair, passed two previous tests, a far cry from the U.S.-financed Arrow anti-missile missile, which has-so far failed.
The Arrow is a project of the U.S. Strategic Defense Initiative, popularly known as “Star Wars,” in which Israel was invited to participate.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
