Defense Minister Ariel Sharon urged local industrialists to help finance Israel’s next generation of sophisticated weaponry. He urged them to invest in the projected Lavie jet fighter, the new Merkava tank and a proposed new missile boat. Addressing members of the Manufacturers Association yesterday, Sharon claimed that Israel is an “entire industrial generation ahead” of most Western arms manufacturers. He offered no examples, however, beyond the extraordinary measures taken to protect the crews of the Merkava tank which earned that machine the nickname, “Jewish Mother.”
Israel reportedly is running into problems in trying to induce foreign financial participation in the Lavie. American manufacturers are understood to be interested in producing parts for the Israel-designed aircraft under contract, but they have shied away from investing their own funds in coproduction rights.
Meanwhile, a seven-member delegation from the McDonnell Douglas Aircraft Co. began detailed discussions with Israel Aircraft Industries, builder of the Lavie, on possible cooperation. The group arrived yesterday and will spend a week in Israel. Representatives of other American airplane manufacturers, including Northrop and General Dynamics, are due here later to discuss sub-contract work on the Lavie.
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.
