Israeli circles believe that American arms manufacturers are waging a campaign to block the sale of Israel-made weaponry abroad because they fear the inroads that Israel has made in the multi-billion dollar world armaments market. They are even more concerned that this campaign may make the Carter Administration reluctant to honor commitments for certain types of advance weapons previously approved by the Ford Administration.
Israel’s Ambassador to the U.S. Simcha Dinitz, is meeting in Washington today with U.S. Secretary of State Cyrus R. Vance. The topics they are expected to discuss include U.S. opposition to the sale of 24 Israel-made Kfir jet interceptors to Ecuador and Israel’s request for CBU-10 cluster bomb units, approved by Ford, which seems to have run into a snag. The U.S. has also refused so far to license Israel to produce American F-16 fighter planes or to manufacture parts for the American-manufactured jet engines that power the Kfir.
Although the Kfir was designed and built in Israel, the fact that it is equipped with an American engine gives the U.S. veto power over the sale to Ecuador. The pretext given is the general prohibition against the sale of arms to Latin American countries. But Israelis believe the U.S. government has been influenced by a spate of articles in American publications claiming that Israel was utilizing American know-how to export military hardware in competition with American manufacturers.
HOPES U.S. DECISION NOT FINAL
Israel Aircraft Industries, which manufactures the Kfir, expressed hope that the American decision is not final. It noted that the U.S. raised no objections when the Austrian air force appeared interested in buying Kfirs. Although preliminary negotiations were opened with the Austrians some months ago, it appears that Vienna has decided against the deal for political and strategic reasons.
The sale to Ecuador would have helped IAI produce a second generation Kfir, an aircraft that is said to equal the performance of the best Western combat jets but sells at a much lower price. This, apparently, inspired the scare campaign in American periodicals, some Israelis believe.
The campaign was begun in a series of articles in Aviation Week and appeared in several newspapers and other periodicals. One allegation was that the Shafrir air-to-air missile was a copy of the American M9L “side-winder” produced by the Raytheon Corp. It was subsequently acknowledged that the Shafrir was a genuine Israeli development.
The articles did not claim that the Gabriel sea-to-sea missile was a version of something else or that the Uzzi submachine gun and Galil all-purpose rifle were not bona fide Israeli products. But their success on the world market was noted. Meanwhile. Ecuador’s option to buy the Kfirs expired on Feb. 5 and the sale may be lost. IAI hopes it can be retrieved if the Americans are persuaded to withdraw their opposition.
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