Officials of Raytheon Corporation, the American firm making the Hawk ground-to-air supersonic missile, were scheduled to arrive in Israel tonight to discuss with Israeli officials details of the plan for Israel to buy the missiles.
The United States announced last year approval of the sale of the missiles to Israel presumably to help restore the imbalance created by the flow to Egypt of Soviet-made heavy bombers. No details were released in that announcement, however, as to when the missiles would be sold to Israel.
Reliable sources here said that the Raytheon officials would advise on the problems, mainly technical, involved in installation and operation of the anti-aircraft missiles. These are assumed to include training of operating personnel and construction of equipment for launch and maintenance.
The arrival of the Raytheon experts coincides with an important conference of Israeli Defense Ministry representatives in various countries to discuss arms purchases. A newcomer to the conference will be the Defense Ministry representative in West Germany, an important source of arms purchases.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.