A new Knesset committee was born yesterday–a subcommittee for military procurement and industry–which intends to increase Knesset involvement in arms purchases. The subcommittee, comprising members of the Foreign Affairs and Security Committee, discussed the next generation of warplanes. Its chairman, Moshe Arens, met with Al Schwimmer, former Israel Aircraft Industry managing director, and Mordechai Hod, former Air Force commander.
The discussion reflected an ongoing debate over whether Israel should purchase sophisticated warplanes such as the F-16 in the U.S. or invest her resources in her own production of planes. Arens, a former chief engineer at IAI who headed the Kfir and Gabriel projects, told newsmen that Israel was capable of building virtually any weapons system cheaper than she can purchase it abroad.
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