The Defense Ministry flatly denied Wednesday that any request has been received from the U.S. for technical information about the Lavi, Israel’s second generation jet fighter plane.
The Ministry reacted to a report by Israel Radio’s Washington correspondent, Shimon Shiffer, that a senior Pentagon official had expressed hope that Israel would cooperate fully with the Reagan Administration to produce an American-built substitute for the Lavi that would incorporate the sophisticated equipment designed by Israeli engineers. Such a request would be “cheek,” the Ministry statement said.
Although the Lavi is largely financed by the U.S. and about half of its components are Americanmade, the Pentagon has recently urged Israel to abandon the project on grounds of excessive costs. A prototype of the Lavi was officially unveiled at Ben Gurion Airport Monday night. Another prototype is scheduled for its first test flight late in September.
Defense Ministry officials told Israel Radio that no requests for information on any Israeli innovations have been received from Washington. Sources at Israel Aircraft Industries, manufacturer of the Lavi, disclosed meanwhile that they have tightened security around the plane, its construction facilities and its design team to prevent industrial espionage.
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