Lavi fighter refuelling
Posted on 01/25/2011 6:11:08 AM PST by sukhoi-30mki
IDF's technological superiority must be defended
Despite Israel's leading position in weapons development, an illusion remains that it is dependent on the United States for the qualitative advantage of its weapon systems.
By Moshe Arens
For many years a basic tenet of Israeli defense policy was that its soldiers must have a qualitative advantage over its enemies in terms of the weapon systems at their disposal. The question was how to achieve that qualitative superiority.
Yitzhak Rabin once told me that victory on the battlefield could only be achieved with weapons acquired abroad, and this view was shared by many in the defense establishment. France was Israel's main source of advanced weapons in the 1950s, with the United States assuming that mantle thereafter. The claims by Israeli engineers that they could develop systems that were at least as good as anything available abroad were dismissed as pipe dreams.
Rabin's position came to the fore in 1987, when as defense minister he asked the cabinet to cancel the Lavi combat aircraft development program, which he had inherited from his predecessor, despite the fact that it was to be the most advanced fighter plane in the world at the time, and two prototypes were already undergoing flight testing. After squeezing the cancellation through the cabinet, Rabin ordered Israel Aircraft Industries (now Israel Aerospace Industries ) to close its engineering division lest it drag Israel into another "adventure." That division was one of the best fighter aircraft design departments in the world.
The Israel Navy became the first Israel Defense Forces branch to place its trust in a locally developed weapon system when it equipped its
(Excerpt) Read more at haaretz.com ...
Lavi fighter refuelling
They are turning Lebanon in to Iwo Jima. Flame throwers will be the only way to dig the fanatics out.
The highest cost of any new combat aircraft is the development cost. The US simply stopped underwriting the cost of the Lavi’s development as I understand it. The Pentagon didn’t want a competitor to the F-16 for overseas sales — and the Lavi would have been a tough competitor.
Israel is probably making a better investment in avionics and tactical missiles anyway. These are the “prime cuts” of any tactical aircraft.
Not exactly. While avionics and weaponry are profitable, they don’t bring you lots of cash if you are unable to provide the hardware for them. Would the US or Russia allow Israel (or any other competitor) to offer subsystems for their aircraft.
I think that we are missing eachother’s points. Israeli sub-systems are primarily to make US aircraft in Israeli use more effective for the tactics that the Israelis prefer. They’ve been tweeking US aircraft since they started buying F-4’s and A-4’s.
In the simplest terms the aircraft is merely a platform for the weapons & sensor suite.
Nope-the issue here is the viability of such subsystems on which restrictions can be imposed. There were reports that the Israelis wanted to install their own radar on the F-16I which was disallowed by Uncle Sam and wrangling over the F-35 is not likely to end. Then there is the whole issue of restricting exports as the US has done more than once. Exports can make a lot of difference for a country like Israel where the domestic market isn’t large.
Rabin's position came to the fore in 1987, when as defense minister he asked the cabinet to cancel the Lavi combat aircraft development program, which he had inherited from his predecessor, despite the fact that it was to be the most advanced fighter plane in the world at the time, and two prototypes were already undergoing flight testing. After squeezing the cancellation through the cabinet, Rabin ordered Israel Aircraft Industries (now Israel Aerospace Industries ) to close its engineering division lest it drag Israel into another "adventure."Another reason Rabin sucked. Thanks sukhoi-30mki.
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