Posted on 12/05/2013 11:48:09 PM PST by sukhoi-30mki
In previous navy purchases, Germany agreed to cover one third of the cost as a way of expressing its commitment to Israel’s security.
Israel is seeking to buy advanced missile boats from Germany to protect drilling operations in its offshore natural gas fields. The government is hoping the deal can be concluded at a cost of about 1 billion euros.
Israel previously bought six Dolphin submarines from Germany. The German government agreed to cover one third of the cost of those purchases, as a way of expressing its commitment to Israel’s security.
Berlin hasn’t yet responded to the current request, partly because the new government elected in September hasn’t yet been sworn in. Chancellor Angela Merkel will need to consult her new foreign and defense ministers before making a decision.
A senior Israeli official said Israel needs three or four missile boats to protect the gas fields, which are located in the Mediterranean Sea. On October 21, the Israeli business daily Globes reported that the navy had drawn up a list of the equipment it needs to protect the fields and presented it to the diplomatic-security cabinet. The paper also reported that Israel had obtained price quotes from shipyards in Germany, South Korea and the United States.
The diplomatic-security cabinet discussed the matter and decided to try to purchase the boats from Germany. But in contrast to the submarines, which Israel never seriously considered buying from any country but Germany, the planned missile boat deal has sparked interest from several other countries.
Germany’s largest shipyard is currently in difficult economic straits and is hungry for new projects. The German government thus ha
(Excerpt) Read more at haaretz.com ...
Germany’s labor costs are higher than ours and South Korea’s are lower. On that basis, the ROK gets the order. But it doesn’t always work that way, does it?
I don’t see the ROK picking up 1/3 of the costs...
Thanks sukhoi-30mki.
ROK may be 1/3 less cost to begin with...
If you’d like to be on or off, please FR mail me.
..................
Could be, of course. Nothing in the article to support that, though.
Maybe they don’t want to deal with an instruction manual translated from Korean to Engrish... ;-)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.