Israel is continuing to test its second-generation jet fighter plane, the Lavi, despite uncertainty about its future due to U.S. objections that it costs too much. A Lavi prototype last week made its 10th test flight in less than two months. It was flown by Menahem Shmuel, chief test pilot of Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI), which designed and built the technically advanced plane.
According to IAI, test flights will continue at an accelerated rate of two a week. A second prototype will enter the program in April and three more prototypes will be built and tested after that. IAI said a total of 1,800 test flights will be made with all prototypes before the best is selected and put into production in about two years.
But the U.S., which is financing the Lavi through military grants, has urged Israel to abandon the project in favor of a American-built aircraft, the F-16C. Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger appeared before the House Foreign Affairs Committee in Washington last Wednesday to explain why the U.S. is opposed to the Lavi.
He said the Israel-built plane would be inferior to the F-16s, which are already part of the Israel Air Force, and that U.S. aid should not be used to further the Lavi project. The Israel Air Force has been flying the F-16A and F-16B for some time. The first three F-16Cs were delivered to Israel earlier this month. Israel has ordered 75 of the advanced F-16Cs.
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.
